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http://www.archive.org/details/adventuresofcapt0Ocahuiala 








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PH POUR ENS- OF SHER AC 


THe ADVENTURES 


OF 


CAPTAIN MAG©® 


OR 


A Phenician [:xpedition 


B.C. 1000 


BY 


fo NY AP EEN 


BELO SAIAL PL BY PME Le BR POTE ALN AME TRAN SEMA E ODS PROM, 
ME Dated ETS DENCY & (BS 030 (May EY EU BS Sa Ad Tye Ne BF OY AAD 2B 


NEW YORK 
GHARWES  SsCRIBNERGS SONS 
188g 


TROW'S 
PRINTING AND BOOK BINDING COMPANY, 
NEW YORK. 


PREFACE, 


THE following pages pretend to no original or scientific 
research. It is their object to present, in a popular form, 
a picture of the world as it was a thousand years before 
the Christian Era, and to exhibit, mainly for the young, a 
summary of that varied information which is contained in 
books, many of which by their high price and exclusively 


technical character are generally unattainable. 


It would only have encumbered the fictitious narrative, 
which is the vchicle for conveying the instruction that 
is designed, to crowd every page with references ; but it 
may be alleged, once for all, that for every statement 
which relates to the history of the period, and especially to 
the history of the Phoenicians, ample authority might be 
quoted from some one or other of the valuable books which 
have been consulted. 

Of the most important of these a list is here appended :— 

1. F. C. Movers. Das Phonizische Alterthum. 
2. RENAN. Missica en Phenicie. 
3. Daux. Recherches sur les Emporia pheéniciens dans le Zeugis et 


le Byzacium. 
a2 


PREFACE, 





NATHAN Davis. Carthage and her Remains. 


. WILKINSON. Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians, 
. Ha@cKH. Kreta. 
. GROTE. History of Greece. 


MoMMSEN. Geschichte der Rémischen Republik (Introduction and 
Chap. I.). 


. BoURGUIGNAT. Monuments mégalithiques du nord de |’ Afrique. 

. FERGUSSON. Rude Stone Monuments. 

. Broca and A. BERTRAND. Celtes, Gaulois et Francs. 

. ABBE BaArGés. Interprétation d’une inscription phénicienne trouvée 


a Marseille. 


. LAYARD. Nineveh and its Remains. 


BoTTa. Fouilles de Babylone. 


. Reuss. New translation of the Bible, in course of publication. 


A few foot-notes are subjoined by way of ‘illustration of 


what might have been carried on throughout the volume; - 


and an Appendix will be found at the end, containing 


some explanation of topics which the continuity of the 


fiction necessarily left somewhat obscure. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP, 


I.—WHY BODMILCAR, THE TYRIAN SAILOR, HATES HANNO, 


THE SIDONIAN SCRIBE oe oe 


II.—THE SACRIFICE TO ASHTORETH .. ee 


IlI.—CHAMAI RECOGNISED BY THE ATTENDANT 


SLAVE an oe oo oe +e 
IV.—KING DAVID oo o oe oe 
V.—PHARAOH ARRIVES TOO LATE on es 
VI.—CRETE AND THE CRETANS ee os 


VIIL—CHRYSEIS PREFERS HANNO TO A KING 
VIII.—AN AFFAIR WITH THE PHOCIANS om 
{[X.—THE LAND OF OXEN oe oe 1 


X.—GISGO THE E\RLESS RECOVERS HIS EARS 


XI.—OUR HEADS ARE IN PERIL oe o 
XII.—I CONSULT THE ORACLE on o 
XIIIL—THE SILVER MINES OF TARSHISH o 
XIV.—AN AMBUSCADE oe oe an oe 


XV.—JUDGE GEBAL DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF 
XVI.—PERILS OF THE OCEAN oe oo o 


XVII.—JONO, THE GOD OF THE SUOMI .. 6 


OF THE 
oe oe 
ee es 
ce ae 
Aste ce 


PAGS 


v1 CONTENTS. 





CHAP. 


XVIII.—JONAH WAXES AMBITIOUS ee 
XIX.—BODMILCAR AGAIN .. oe oe 
XX.—THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN ee 
XXI.—THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ee 


XXIL—BELESYS FINDS BICHRI SOMEWHAT HEAVY 


KXIIL—-WE SETTLE OUR ACCOUNTS WITH BODMILCAR 


LIST OF FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. 


HANNO PROCEEDED TO DRAW UP THE ARTICLES 
HANNO CAUGHT UP A LARGE PITCHER .. ee 
MY SALUTE ee oe ~*s o oe oe 


THE IONIAN COMMENCED ONE OF THE SONGS 
NATIVE LAND “5 oe ee 


SHORTLY BEFORE SUNSET WE REACHED JERUSALEM 
WAITING FOR THE KING TO SPEAK i i 
“ DOWN, YOU PHCENICIAN THIEVES!”  .. x 


THE SOLDIERS RAPIDLY CROSSED THEIR LANCES 


PLEASED WITH HIS MORNING’S WORK .. es 
“THE MELKARTH!” .,. af ae Zs ee 
BORNE TO ITS RESTING-PLACE A af ms 
HOMER .. Pf i 5 se se a 
UNAWARES IN AN AMBUSH .. ie = ee 


HANNO AND CHRYSEIS BESPEAK THEIR ATTENTION 


“TF YOU ADVANCE ONE STEP BEYOND THIS LANCE” 


CLOSE TO ETNA ee oe oe oe ee ee 
UTICA oe ee ee ee ee ee ee 
A HUGE ELEPHANT WAS BEING LED PAST oo 


OF HER 


oe 


PAGER 


1g! 


viii CONTENTS. 





I PROSTRATED MYSELF THREE TIMES 2. =< 
AN AVALANCHE OF STONES.. ee oe ie 
NO QUARTER .. es Je Fs te = 


ON THE VERY POINT OF SLAYING THE CHILD eo 
THE DESPICABLE SYRIAN _.. oe oe oe 
I DID WHAT I COULD TO CONSOLE HASDRUBAL 


JUDGE GEBAL .. oe = ns se 


BICHRI AND DIONYSOS BROUGHT THEM BOTH DOWN ., 


HE DASHED IT TO THE GROUND .. oe oe 


SEVERAL OF THE SAVAGES ENTERED THE HUT 


THE GOD JONO ae ae ad re 
BLOWING HIS TRUMPET. es °F ss 
THE CHILD HAD FOUND THE LEAK * a 
IT SNAPPED A PIKE-STAFF IN TWO 3 S, 
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA iss ms s 

IN HONOUR OF THEIR GENERAL « “a we 
WE WERE COMMANDED TO HALT ., a PS 


ee 


ee 


HIMILCO AND GISGO IN ANIMATED CONVERSATION WITH THE 


CHALDEAN SOLDIERS 


MY ACCOUNT WAS SETTLED WITH EODMILCAR .,. 


And Thirty-six smaller (ext Lilustrations, 


327 
335 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO 





CHAPTER ET 


WHY BODMILCAR, THE TYRIAN SAILOR, HATES HANNO, TITE SIDONIAN 
SCRIBE, 

I AM Captain Mago, and Hiram,’ King of Tyre, was well 
aware that my experience as a sailor was very great. It 
was in the third year of his reign that he summoned me 
to his presence from Sidon,’ the city of fishermen, and the 
metropolis of the Phcenicians. He had already been told 
of my long voyages; how I had visited Malta ; how I had 
traded to Bozrah,? the city founded by the Sidonians, but 
now called Carthada* by the Tyrians; and how I had 
reached the remote Gades in the land of Tarshish.® 

The star of Sidon was now on the wane. The ships of 
Tyre were fast occupying the sea, and her caravans were 
covering the land. A monarchy had been established 
by the Tyrians, and their king, with the saffects® as his 
coadjutors, was holding sway over all the other citics 
of Phcenicia. The fortunes of Tyre were thus in the 
ascendant: sailors and merchants from Sidon, Gebal, 
Arvad and Byblos were continually enlisting themselves 
in the service of her powerful corporations. 

' Hiram I, reigned from 980 to 947 B.c. 

* Sidon, or Zidon, in the Phoenician tongue means ‘‘ fishery.” 

® Bostra, or Bozrah ; hence Byrsa, the citadel. 

* Carthave, or Kart-Khadecht, the new city. 

5 Tarshish, the Tartessus of the Greeks, Spain. 

§ Suffect, or chowphecth (plural chophettim), the Hebrew and Phoenician 
magistrates preceding the monarchy, 


B 


2 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





When I had made my obeisance to King Hiram, he 
informed me that his friend and ally, David, King of the 
Jews, was collecting materials for the erection of a temple 
to his god Adonai (or our Lord) in the city of Jerusalem, 
and that he was desirous of making his own royal con- 
tribution to assist him. Accordingly he submitted to me 
that at his expense I should fit out a sufficient fleet, and 
should undertake a voyage to Tarshish, in order to procure 
a supply of silver, and any other rare or valuable com- 
modity which that land could yield, to provide embellish- 
ment for the sumptuous edifice. 

Anxious as I was already to revisit Tarshish and the 
ands of the West, I entered most eagerly into the proposal 
of the King, assuring him that I should require no longer 
time for preparation than what was absolutely necessary to 
equip the ships and collect the crews. 

It was still two months before the Feast of Spring, an 
annual festival that marked the re-opening of navigation. 
This was an interva] sufficient for my purpose, for as the 
King directed me to call first at Joppa, and to proceed 
thence to Jerusalem to receive King David’s instructions, 
I had no need for the present to concern myself about 
anything further than my ships and sailors, knowing that 
I could safely trust to the fertile and martial land of Judza 
to provide me with provisions and soldiers. 

The King was highly gratified at my ready acquiescence 
in his proposition. He instructed his treasurer to hand 
over to me at once a thousand silver shekels! to meet 
preliminary expenses, and gave orders to the authorities 
at the arsenal to allow me to select whatever wood, hemp, 
or copper I might require. 

I took my leave of the King and rejoined Hanno my 
scribe and Himilco my pilot, the latter of whom had been 
my constant associate on my previous voyages. They were 
sitting on the side-bench at the great gate of the palace, 


! The silver shekel was the standard money of the Phoenicians, and was 
worth about 2s. It was a tenth part of a shekel of gold. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 3 





and had been impatiently awaiting my return, mutually 
speculating upon the reason that had induced the King to 
send for us from Sidon, and naturally conjecturing that it 
must relate to some future enterprise and adventure. At 
the first glimpse of my excited countenance, revealing my 
delight, Hanno exclaimed: 

“Welcome back, master; surely the King has granted 
you some eager longing of your heart!” 

“ True ; and what do you suppose it is?” I asked. 

“ Perhaps a new ship to replace the one you lost in the 
Great Syrtes ; and perhaps a good freight into the bargain. 
No son of Sidon could covet more than this.” 

“ Yes, Hanno; this, and more beside,” I answered. “ But 
our good fortune at once demands our vows ; let us hasten 
to the temple of Ashtoreth,’* and there let us render our 
thanks to the goddess, and sue for her protection and her 
favour to guard our vessels as we sail to Joppa. To Joppa 
we go; and onwards thence to Tarshish !” 

“Tarshish!” echoed the voice of Himilco, with a cry of 
ecstasy; and as he spoke he raised up his sole remaining 
eye towards the skies; he had lost the other in a naval 
fight. “Tarshish,’ he said again: “O ye gods, that rule 
the destinies of ships! ye stars,” that so oft have fixed my 
gaze in my weary watch on deck! here I offer to you six 
shekels on the spot; ’tis all my means allow. But take 
me to Tarshish, and vouchsafe that I may come across the 
villain whose lance took out my eye, so that I may make 
him feel the point of my Chalcidian sword below his ribs, 
and I vow that I will offer you in sacrifice an ox, a noble 
ox, finer than Apis, the god of the idiot Egyptians.” 

Hanno was less demonstrative. ‘ For my part,” he said, 
“Tshall be satisfied if I can barter enough of the vile wine of 
Judea, and the cheap ware of Sidon, to get a good return 

' Astarte. The Aphrodite of the Greeks; the goddess of navigation, and 
the national deity of the Sidonians. 


2 The stars in the constellation of Ursa Major were also tutelary deities of! 
navigation ; the pole-star by the Greeks being called ‘‘the Phcenician.” 


4 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





of pure white silver. I shall only be too pleased to build 
myself a mansion upon the sea-shore where I can enjoy 
my pleasure-boat as it glides along with its purple sails, 
and so to pass my days in ease and luxury.” 

“ Remember, however,” I replied, “that before you can 
get your lordly mansion, we shall again and again have tu 
sleep under the open sky of the cheerless West ; and before 
you arrive at all your luxury, you will have to put up 
with many a coarse and meagre meal.” 

“All the more pleasant will be the retrospect,” re- 
joined Hanno; “and when we come to recline upon our 
costly couches it will be a double joy to dwell upon 
our adventures, and relate them to our listening guests.” 

Conversation of this character engaged us till we 
reached the cypress-grove, from which the temple of 
Ashtoreth upreared its silver-plated roof. The setting 
sun was all aglow, and cast its slanting rays upon the 
fabric, illuminating alike the heavy gilding and the 
radiant colours of the supporting pillars. Flocks of 
consecrated doves fluttered in the sacred grove, alighting 
ever and again upon the gilded rods that connected one 
pillar with another. Groups of girls were frequently met, 
dressed in white, embroidered with purple and _ silver, 
either hastening, pomegranates in their hands, to make a 
votive offering at the shrine, or sauntering leisurely in the 
sacred gardens. Ever and again, as the temple-doors 
were opened, there was caught the distant melody of 
the sistra, flutes, and tambourines, upon which the priests 
and priestesses were celebrating the honour of their 
goddess. Such were the sounds, the modulated measures 
of the music mingled with the soft cooings of the doves 
and the joycus laughter of the heedless maidens, that 
combined to make a mysterious murmur that could not 
fail to impress the minds of such as us, rough mariners 
unaccustomed to anything more harmonious than the 
groanings of the waves, the creaking of our ships, and 
the howling of the wind. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 5 





I went with Himilco to consult the tariff of the 
sacrifices, which was exhibited, engraven on a tablet and 
affixed to the feet of a huge marble dove at the right-hand 
entrance to the precincts of the temple. As my own 
offering, I selected some fruit and cakes, the value of which 
did not exceed a shekel, and was just turning back to call 
Hanno, when I encountered a man ina dirty and thread- 
bare sailor’s coat, who was hurrying along, muttering bitter 
curses as he went. 

“Help me, Baal Chamatm, Lord of the heavens!” I 
involuntarily exclaimed; “is not this Bodmilcar, the 
Tyrian ?” 

The man paused, and recognised me in a moment ; and 
we exchanged the warmest greetings. 

Bodmilcar, whom I had thus unexpectedly met, had been 
one of my oldest associates, Many a time, alike in expe- 
ditions of war and commerce, he had commanded a vessel 
by my side. He was likewise already acquainted with 
Himilco, who consequently shared my surprise and regret 
at meeting him in so miserable a plight. 

“What ill fate has brought you to this?” was my im- 
patient inquiry. “At Tyre you used to be the owner 
of a couple of gaouls’ and four good galleys; what has 
happened? What has brought it about that you should 
be here in nothing better than a ragged kitonet ?”? 

“Moloch’s? heaviest curses be upon the Chaldeans!” 
ejaculated Bodmilcar. “May their cock-head Nergal* 
torture and burn and roast them all! My story is soon 
told. I had a cargo of slaves. A finer cargo was never 
under weigh. The hold of my Tyrian gaoul carried 
Caucasian men as strong as oxen, and Grecian girls as 
lissome as reeds; there were Syrians who could cook, or 
play, or dress the hair; there were peasants from Judzxa 

' Gaoul, a round ship, employed in merchant service. 

2 Kitonet, ashort tunic, worn by Phcenician sailors. 

* Baal Moloch, the sun god. 


‘ Nergal, the Chaldean god of fire and war, always represented with ¢ 
cock’s head. 


6 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





who could train the vine or cultivate the field. Their value 
was untold.” 

“ And tell me, friend Bodmilcar,” I inquired, “ where are 
they now? Did they not yield you the countless shekels 
on which you reckoned ?” 

“Now! where are they now?” shrieked out the excited 
man ; “they are every one upon their way to some cursed 
city of the Chaldeans, on the other side of Rehoboth. In- 
stead of shekels I have got plenty of kicks and plenty 
of bruises, of which I shall carry the marks on my body 
for a long time to come. The naval suffect gave me a 
few zeraas,! just to relieve my distress, and had it not 
been for that, I should not have had a morsel of bread 
to keep life in me. It is now three days since I arrived in 
Tyre, and to get here I have been continually walking, till 
my feet are so swollen I can hardly move.” 

“You mean you have walked here?” said Himilco, 
compassionately. “But surely you might have found a 
boat of some sort to bring you?” 

“Boat!” growled Bodmilcar, almost angrily ; “ when did 
boats begin to journey overland? Did I not tell you I 
came from Rehoboth in the land of those cursed Chaldeans ? 
But hear me out, and you will sympathise with my mis- 
fortune. I started first of all along the coast, buying slaves 
from the Philistines, and corn and oil from the Jews. I 
went across to Greece, and made some profitable dealings 
there. I chanced upon a few wretched little Ionian barques, 
and secured some plunder so. Then I conceived the 
project of going through the straits, and I succeeded 
beyond my hopes in getting iron, and, what is more, in 
setting slaves from Caucasus. My fortune was made. I 
was proceeding home, when just as we neared the Phasis, 
on the Chalybean coast, some alien gods—for sure I am 
that neither Melkarth nor Moloch would so have dealt 
with a Tyrian sailor—some alien gods, I say, sent down a 
frightfu’ storm. With the utmost peril I contrived to save 

1 Zeraas, small copper coin. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 7 





my crew and all my human cargo; but the bulk of my 
goods was gone, and my poor vessels were shattered 
hopelessly. There was but one resource; I had no al- 
ternative but to convey my salvage in the best way I 
could across Armenia and Chaldea by land, consoling 
myself with the expectation of finding a market for the 
slaves along the road. But once again the gods were 
cruelly adverse. We were attacked by a troop of Chal- 
deans ; fifty armed men could not protect a gang of four 
hundred slaves, who, miserable wretches as they were, 
could not be induced by blows or prayers to lift up a hand 
in their own defence. The result was that we were very 
soon overpowered, and that, together with all my party, I 
was made a prisoner. The Chaldeans proposed to sell us 
to the King of Nineveh, and I had the pleasure of finding 
myself part and parcel of my own cargo.” 

“ But, anyhow, here you are. How did you contrive to 
get out of your dilemma?” I asked my old comrade. 

Bodmilcar raised the skirt of his patched and greasy 
kitonet, and displayed a long knife with an ivory handle 
hanging from his belt. 

“They forgot to search me,” he said, “and omitted to 
bind me. The very first night on which there was no 
moonlight I was entertaining a couple of rascals who had 
charge of me, by telling them wonderful tales about Libyan 
serpents, and about the men of Tarshish who had mouths 
in the middle of their chests, and eyes at the tips of their 
fingers ; openmouthed, they were lost in amazement at the 
lies I was pouring into their ears, and were entirely off their 
guard. I seized my opportunity ; and having first thrust 
my knife into the belly of one of them, I cut the throat of 
the other and made my escape. I took to my heels, and, 
Moloch be praised! the rascals failed to find a trace of me. 
But now that I am here, the gods only know what is to 
become of me. If I fail to get service as a pilot, I must 
enter as a common sailor in some Tyrian ship.” 

“No need of that, Bodmilcar,” I exclaimed; “you have 


8 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





made your appearance just ata lucky moment. All praise to 
Ashtoreth! you are just the man I want. I have a com- 
mission from the King to fit out ships for Tarshish; I am 
captain of the expedition, and here at once I can appoint 
you my second in command. My pilot is Himilco; and 
here is Hanno, my scribe ; we arc on our way to the temple 
of the goddess, and are going in her presence to draw up 
the covenants.” 

“Joy, joy, dear Mago!” ejaculated Bodmilcar; “may the 
gods be gracious to you, and repay your goodness! I shall 
not regret my disaster at the hands of the Chaldeans, if it 
ends in a voyage to Tarshish with you. Only let Melkarth 
vouchsafe us a good ship, and with Himilco to guide our 
course, we cannot fail to prosper, even though our voyage 
be to the remotest confines of the world.” 

Hanno, who meanwhile had joined us, took out from his 
girdle some ink and some reeds, with a little stone to 
sharpen them, and having seated himself upon the temple 
steps, proceeded to draw up the articles which appointed 
me admiral of the expedition, Bodmilcar vice-admiral, and 
Himilco pilot-in-chief. Himilco and myself both affixed 
our seals to the document, and Bodmilcar was proceeding 
to do so likewise, feeling mechanically for his seal, which he 
remembered afterwards that the Chaldeans had stolen. I 
gave him twenty shekels to buy another, and to provide 
him with a new outfit of clothes. Then, with Himilco, I 
proceeded to make my oblation of fruits and cakes to 
Ashtoreth ; and in the highest spirits we made our way 
to the harbour, where our light vessel, the Gadita, was 
awaiting us. 

Early next morning we set vigorously to work. I drew 
out the plans of my vessels upon papyrus sheets. My own 
Gadita was to be kept as a light vessel ; but I resolved to 
have a large gaoul constructed as a transport to carry the 
merchandise, and two barques to act as tenders to the gaoul, 
which would draw too much water to approach very near 
the shore. As an escorting convoy I chose two large 








mS 


pa lease 


aie af VF Vk 








S. 


THE ARTICLE 


,OCEEDED TO DRAW UP 


PR 


HANNO 


8. 


4 


To face pa 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 9 





double-decked galleys,! manned by fifty oarsmen, similar 
to those recently invented at Sidon. At this period, the 
Tyrians had three of these galleys in port ; they were very 
rapid in their course, and drew very little water ; they were 
armed with strong beaks at the prow; were worked both 
by oars and sails, and were adapted either for war or 
commerce. 

I determined to use cedar for the keel and sides of my 
vessel, and oak from Bashan, in Judza, for the masts and 
yards. I discarded the ancient method of making my sails 
of Galilean reeds or papyrus-fibre, preferring to have them 
woven out of our excellent Phoenician hemp, which the 
people of Arvad and Tyre are skilful in twisting into a 
very substantial texture. It was of the same material 
that I resolved to make my ropes. 

As I was going through the arsenal, and wondering at 
the accumulated mass of copper, I espied a little store 
of the beautiful white tin obtained from the Celts in the 
distant islands of the far north-west. Previously to my own 
voyage those islands had been all but unknown, and I 
believe that I may say that my own investigation of them 
has conferred as great a benefit upon the Phcenicians as 
they had reaped two hundred years before by the discovery 
of the silver mines of Tarshish. 

The sight of the copper determined me upon carrying 
out a plan which I had for some time been contemplating. 
It occurred to me that if the keel and flanks under water 
were protected with copper in the same way as the prows 
had hitherto been, the solidity of the vessel would be greatly 
increased, and the wood would be far less liable to decay. 
Accordingly, I made up my mind to protect the prows of 
the galleys with a hard alloy of copper and tin, and t” 
sheathe the keels and flanks of all the four vessels with 
plates of wrought copper. The copper of Cyprus I rejected 
as being too soft and spongy for my purpose, and that 


1 For details of the construction of these galleys, see notes at the end of 
the Volume. 


itd) THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





of Libanus as far too brittle; but the firm yet ductile 
Cilician metal suited me admirably, and Kheleshbaal, 
the renowned Tyrian founder, set to work at once to forge 
me some large sheets, three cubits’ long by two wide. 

The King had placed 200 workmen at my disposal ; and, 
in order that I might better supcrintend their operations, | 
took a lodging with my three friends in a house at the 
corner of the Street of Caulkers, just opposite the arsenal, 
and there from my window upon the fourth floor I could well 
overlook the men working in the docks below. I directed 
Hanno to make out a list of the goods we should require 
for barter, and he and Himilco chiefly busied themselves in 
collecting the things together ; whilst Bodmilcar, with two 
of my sailors, kept perambulating the neighbourhood of the 
harbour, succeeding tolerably well in securing recruits for 
my crew from amongst the seamen who were loitering about 
the quays, with tilted hats, looking out for employment. 

On the first day of the month Nisan,? just four weeks 
after I had undertaken my commission, I returned home for 
my evening meal, and found my companions in hot dispute. 

“ How now !” I cried, on entering the room ; “ what’s this ? 
What is the meaning of this angry contention ?” 

“T am telling Bodmilcar,” said Hanno, “that he has 
about as much brains as a bullock, and about as much 
elegance as a Bactrian camel.” 

“And am I to endure this insolence from a young strip- 
ling?” cried Bodmilcar, angrily; “am I to put up with it 
from a fresh-water lubber, who will cry like a baby at the 
first gust of wind, and implore us to put him on shore 
again? He has lived among women and scribblers till he 
has no more pluck in him than a garden-tortoise.” 

“TI confess,” rejoined Hanno, sarcastically, “that I have 
not had your experience ; I have not had the advantage of 
being pounced upon by the Chaldeans, or of being thrashed 
by my own slaves. But let me say, I am twenty, and that 
I hope the first time you find me funking the sea, you 


! The common cubit is about 16 inches. 
* Nisan; part of March and Apnl 











mr 


Aa 





fo 
J) “ele gee 





HANNO 
To Jace page 11 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. I! 





will pitch me overboard like an old sandal. Anyhow, I 
have had a voyage as far as Chittim ;+ I have been amongst 
the Ionians, and can speak their language ten times better 
than any one among you.” 

“Talk to me about the Ionians,” shouted Bodmilcar in a 
fury, “and I will break every bone in your precious skin,” 

And, as he spoke, he laid his hand upon his knife; but 
Hanno, without flinching for a moment, caught up a large 
pitcher that was standing on the table. 

“Steady, steady!” interposed Himilco, “or you will be 
spilling all the nectar ;”? and whilst I laid a firm grasp upon 
Bodmilcar’s arm, he rescued the pitcher, and deposited it 
safely in the corner of the room. 

Then addressing myself to the two excited combatants, 
I said: “ Nowthen, I cannot permit this altercation ; you are 
both under my orders, and you must both submit ; conduct 
yourselves amicably, or it shall be the worse for him that 
disturbs the peace. But what is the meaning of this 
chatter about the Ionians ?” 

Hanno held out his hand to me, in token of submission, 
expressed his regret for having given offence to Bodmilcar, 
and assured me that he had only spoken in jest. 

“You see now,” I said to Bodmilcar, “ Hanno is not 
your subordinate, and you are bound to treat him as your 
equal. However, what is it that he has said to offend you 
so grievously ?” 

Bodmilcar seemed abashed ; he stood twirling his beard, 
and without raising his eyes, said : 

“ Amongst the slaves that the Chaldeans captured, there 
was one Ionian girl that I thought to make my wife. I 
spoke of her to Hanno, but he only jeered me; he told me 
that the girl had gone off with the Chaldeans of her own 
accord, merely to get out of reach of me; and his provoca- 
tion made me angry.” 

1 Chittim, the classical Crt’u7, a Phoenician colony in Cyprus. 


? Nectar; the sweet and perfumed wine of the Phoenicians, said by the 
Greeks to be the drink of the gods. 


12 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Nay, nay,” said Hanno: “I did not want to make him 
angry ; it was a thoughtless joke ; he was somewhat old, I 
said, for so young a bride, and Ionian girls generally like 
the perfume of flowers and the fragrance of sweet spices 
better than the smell of tar.” 

“Tt was wrong of you,’ I said, as sternly as I could, 
though I really felt inclined to laugh. 

To my suggestion that they should make up their 
quarrel with mutual pledges over a cup of wine, Hanno 
eagerly responded, “With all my heart, and Ashtoreth 
give me my deserts if ever wilfully I offend his grey hairs 
again ;” but Bodmilcar took the proffered hand coldly, and 
with evident constraint. 

Seeing that all immediate peril of a smash was over, 
Himilco brought forward his pitcher again from its place 
of safety. I heard nothing more of the disagreement ; but 
I could not help noticing that Bodmilcar was never again 
the same in his demeanour towards Hanno, and that he 
did not speak to him any more than he could avoid. 

About a week later, as I was in the arsenal for the 
purpose of selecting the ropes for the rigging, Himilco 
came running to me to inform me that one of the King’s 
servants had arrived with a message that was to be delivered 
to myself. I went to meet the messenger. He was a tall 
Syrian eunuch with frizzled hair and painted face, arrayed 
in a long embroidered robe, and wearing large gold ear- 
rings after the fashion of his country. He held a long cane 
surmounted by a golden pomegranate, and spoke with a 
languid lisp. 

“Are you Captain Mago, the King’s naval officer?” he 
asked, as he eyed me from head to foot. 

Receiving my reply, he continued: “I am Hazael, of 
the royal household; here on my finger you may see the 
signet which empowers me to exercise my authority. 
The purpose of my visit is to inspect the vessels you are 
building ; but specially my object is to give instructions 
that proper accommodation shall be provided for myself. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 13 





and for a slave that I have to conduct from my master to 
Pharaoh, King of Egypt. Two proper berths must be pre- 
pared ; and the King’s orders are that you are to remit us 
to Egypt after you have visited Jerusalem.” 

“ As to your directions about berths,” I replied, utterly 
astonished at his cool effrontery, “you must permit me 
to remind you that on board ship the captain, with his 
pilot under him, invariably allots the place for every 
passenger.” 





“ Be it so,” rejoined the eunuch; “yet it is imperative 
that separate apartments, tapestried and carpeted suitably, 
should be provided for myself and for the royal slave. Im- 
possible for us to live in contact with the rough and tarry 
seamen.” 

I felt a strong inclination to let Hazael experience 
how he relished lying full length upon a heap of rubbish 
that was close at hand; but I controlled my indignation 
and said: 

“ T will contrive something. I will either make a partition 
in a corner of the hold, or put up a cabin of planks upon 


14 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





the deck ; but whatever is done must not interfere with the 
working of the ship. When I have made the provision in 
space, I leave you to fit and furnish as you please; but 
mark you this, your curtains and carpets will be ruined 
in the first tempest that we get. However, that is your 
concern, not mine.” 

“ Each of the cabins,” complacently continued the eunuch, 
“ must be twelve cubits by six ; there must be six benches 
of sandal-wood and ivory ; the bedsteads must be inlaid ; 
the windows must be framed and fitted perfectly.” 

“Fitted!” I rejoined: “ have I not told you already 
that you may furnish and adorn the cabins as you will: 
their size, their position must rest with me: in such matters 
my authority is supreme. You may tell your royal master 
from me that adequate accommodation shall be provided, 
but that with my arrangements no one is at liberty to 
interfere.” 

The eunuch looked aghast at my temerity; but he 
seemed somehow to comprehend that I was not to be 
trifled with. He muttered a few words to the effect that 
I had better see that everything was duly done, and without 
a word or gesture of leave-taking, turned on his heel and 
sauntered leisurely away. I watched him for a moment, 
and turning to Himilco, who had been near enough to 
overhear the conversation, I said: 

“Unless I reckon badly, that fellow will give us some 
trouble before we have done with him.” 

“ Ah, no; I’ll take care of that,” said Himilco. “Sooner 
than the painted hound should interfere with us too much, 
I'd have a rope to his heels, and he should dangle, head in 
the water, all the way from Joppa to Tarshish. ’Tis not 
for us to permit ourselves to be treated like dogs.” 

“No,” said 1; “but maybe, all will go well; Moloch 
will be our guardian ; and once at sea we shall not fail to 
secure the protection of our Ashtoreth. To tell you the 
truth, I am really far more apprehensive about Hanno’s 
pranks with Bodmilcar.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 15 





“ We must hope for the best,” replied Himilco. “ Bod- 
milcar will be on board the gaoul, and we will contrive for 
Hanno to come with us in one of the galleys.” 

“True,” I assented ; “it is indispensable that they should 
be separated. But with regard to this eunuch’s require- 
ments; I hardly see whether it will be better to provide 
the cabins in the gaoul, as being the more roomy, or to 
have them under my own supervision. Plague upon the 
slave and eunuch both !” 

At that moment Hanno come up, with his roll of 
papyrus in his hand, and caught the tenor of our con- 
versation. 

“ A slave and an eunuch to go!” he exclaimed. “Surely 
the charge of them ought to fall to my lot. Such duties 
ever belong to a scribe. Besides, I have made some pro- 
gress in the studies of a magician ; and better even than 
a magician I could humour their fancies, and understand 
their likes and dislikes.” 

I expressed my opinion that they would have enough of 
magicians in Egypt whither they were going, and resolved 
that I would keep them under my own eye. 

“ There’s an end then to all my pretty scheme of teach- 
ing them caligraphy, rhetoric, and what not,” said Hanno, 
smiling. “I must fall back, I see, upon my own accounts.” 

He unfolded his roll,and submitted to me his reckoning 
of the amount that would be requisite to pay our sailors 
and our oarsmen, at the same time handing me his state- 
ment of the sums that had already been expended in the 
purchase of the goods for barter. 

The outlay far exceeded the golden talent, the thousand 
shekels, which the King had advanced. He had, however, 
commissioned me to spare no expense, and had promised 
to meet all reasonable demands, so that I felt no uneasiness, 
but sent Hanno straight to the palace to exhibit the 
accounts and to ask for a further grant. The request was 
most generously met. 

Meanwhile, Himilco and I continued to employ ourselves 


16 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





in having planks of fir from Senir’ fitted to the flanks of 
our vessels, and in rigging our heavy masts of oak with 
yard-arms of cedar. 

Our work progressed to our entire satisfaction. The 
Gadita was repaired and entirely refitted ; the figure-head, 
an immense horse, was illuminated with dazzling enamel 
eyes ; the sides of the vessel were painted red upon a biack 
ground ; and twelve shields of bronze, each glowing in the 
centre with a polished copper boss, were hung outside. 

After everything had been completed, I obtained permis- 
sion for the Gadita to be conducted with great ceremony, 
to the music of trumpets and cymbals, into the basin of the 
harbour. For the occasion the naval suffect lent mea large 
purple sail, reserved expressly for staté festivities ; twelve 
armed sailors, lance in hand, stood behind the shields of 
bronze; and twenty-two oarsmen, plying their oars in 
regular cadence, made the ship glide swiftly through the 
water. Gisgo, the helmsman, from his station in the stern, 
deftly wielded the tiller, according to the directions of 
Himilco, whose place was at the prow. Bodmilcar, Hanno, 
and myself were upon the poop. We were all of us in state 
attire, and were conscious of a keen enjoyment of the ad- 
miring gaze of the crowds of sailors who thronged, not only 
the adjacent quays, but the terraces of the arsenal and of 
the admiralty palace, and watched our manceuvres. The 
naval suffect was himself one of the spectators; he was 
seated at the grand entrance of the palace, just above the 
flight of steps that led down to his official wharf. So 
pleased he was with the appearance of the Gadita, that he 
invited all the officers to sup with him in the evening, and 
sent a sheep, a large jar of wine, two baskets of bread, a 
supply of figs and raisins, and twelve cheeses, for the 
entertainment of our sailors. 

Arrived at the palace, we passed up the narrow staircases 
and dim corridors of the eastern tower, and found ourselves 
in a large round room with a lofty dome, from the centre 


 Senir, in Libanus, now Djebel Sannin. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 17 





of which there hung a polished copper lamp. The suffect 
paid us many compliments ; and, on learning that we should 
be ready for our outfit within ten days, he gave me per- 
mission to go next morning and to choose whatever arms 
would be requisite for the expedition. 

After our entertainment we embarked from the suffect’s 
private wharf, intending to return, all of us, to our own 
quarters on shore; but all at once Bodmilcar declared 
himself so enamoured of the Gada, that he resolved to 
sleep alone on board. As our boat was silently threading 
its way along the canal that intersected the mainland, 
cutting off an island by its course, Hanno commenced 
singing in a foreign language. My attention was arrested, 
and I asked him what language it was. He replied that 
it was Ionian, and expressed his surprise that I did not 
understand it. 

“No,” I answered ; “it is strange to me. I have sailed 
but rarely along those coasts. But haven’t you done with 
the Tonians yet?” 

“Oh, Bodmilcar is not here to get in a rage, and we have 
not got the slave amongst us to be affected by any songs 
of mine.” 

“The slave!” I exclaimed with wonder. “I did not 
imagine that the slave would care for your songs. Is she 
an Ionian ?” 

Hanno laughed, and made me no answer; but after a 
while he yielded to my persuasion, and made me acquainted 
with all he knew. 

“Hazael the eunuch,” he said, “is a chattering fool. 
When I went to the palace I saw him, and wormed out of 
him that the slave in question had been brought from some 
Chaldean merchants, and that she had been originally 
carried away from her own country by a Tyrian pirate, so 
that the whole truth was not hard to guess.” 

“Not a word of this,” I said; “not a word to Bodmilcar. 
More than ever it makes me resolve to have both eunuch 
and slave on board my ewn galley ; otherwise I foresee there 

Cc 


18 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





will be no end of mischief. Neither you nor Himilco must 
breathe a syllable until we have seen our unwelcome 
passengers securely landed at their destination.” 

Each promised faithfully to preserve the strictest re- 
ticence: Hanno, for his part, vehemently asseverating that 
if a word upon the matter should escape him, he would 
forthwith cut off his tongue, and devote himself to Horus, 
the Egyptian god of silence. 

As we now reached our lodging, the conversation dropped, 
and for the next few days we were far too much engaged in 
active duties to think any further of what had transpired. 

I gave my own personal superintendence to the weaving 
of all the sails, which were made strictly after the directions 
prescribed by the goddess Tannat.’ I saw that my ropes 
were well twisted and thoroughly tarred ; and I arranged 
the benches for my oarsmen with such compactness that 
there was only an interval of a hand’s breadth between the 
seat of the rower on the upper tier and the head of the man 
in the tier below. 

To give extra strength to the masts and yards, I had 
them bound at regular distances with bands of ox-hide, and 
finally I had the entire hulls plated with sheets of copper, 
fastened together with bolts of bronze. 

Never had prouder ships been launched upon the Great 
Sea.” 


1 The Grecian Zamith ; according to the Phcenician legend, she was the 
inventor of sails. 
2 The Mediterranean, 


THE ADVENTURES CF CAPTAIN MAGO. 19 





CHAPTER “IT. 
THE SACRIFICE TO ASHTORETH, 


Two days before the great spring festival which celebrated 
the re-opening of navigation, and which was observed as a 
national holiday, our ships were ready in the stocks, and in 
the course of three hours were launched without difficulty. 
The two galleys were each seventy-two ordinary cubits 
(or sixty-two sacred cubits) long by seventeen wide. The 
gaoul, with its keel of one solid piece of cedar, was sixty- 
seven cubits in length by twenty in width; it had three 
decks and, as I have said, two tiers of rowers; the decks 
were four cubits apart, and were raised fore and aft, so as 
to make the elevation sixteen cubits above the water, whilst 
in the centre it did not exceed twelve cubits. The galleys, 
when carrying their full burden, and the double line of oars- 
men, stood each eight cubits above the water-line. Each 
contained space enough to take 150 sailors and §0 rowers ; 
but hitherto I had only engaged 200 seamen, expecting 
that I should be able to enlist the services of 100 soldiers 
and archers who would be willing to take a share of the 
working of the vessel. The number of the crew of the 
gaoul was complete ; the Gadzta had likewise her full com- 
plement of thirty-seven men, and the barques their crews of 
eight. These two small craft were to be kept constantly 
in tow, and would consequently be in no need of a pilot ; 
but each of the larger vessels was provided with two pilots 
one at the prow, one at the stern, Himilco being pilot-in- 
chief. At the top of every mast, there was a look-out 


20 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





place, constructed of fir-wood from Senir, for the purpose 
of sheltering the man on watch. The apertures for the 
oars were arranged at equal distances along the sides ; and 
all the vessels, after they had been caulked and tarred, 
were made to correspond with the Gadita by being painted 
black with red lines. Hanno had drawn up a document 
for each of the captains, containing the names of the 
respective crews, and a complete list of every piece of spare 
rigging on board, with a register of the place where every 
article was stored. All the arms, the bedding, the cooking- 
utensils, the water-barrels, had their positions carefully 
recorded, and in the crew’s quarters between decks, each 
seaman and rower had his berth distinctly marked with his 
own name. The cabin under the raised deck at the stern 
was reserved for the use of the captain and pilots, whilst 
that under the prow was set apart for the officers of the 
crew, and the captains of the men-at-arms. On all the 
vessels the arrangements were identical, with the excep- 
tion that at the stern of the galley which I had chosen for 
myself I had ordered a boarded cabin to be erected, 
divided into two compartments by a partition, and lighted 
by two small windows, for the especial use of the eunuch 
and the King’s slave under his charge. 

Hanno was extremely interested in the selection of good 
and appropriate names for the ships. At his wish, the 
gaoul, which was under the command of Bodmilcar, and 
numbered a large proportion of Tyrians amongst its crew, 
was named after Melkarth, the god of Tyre. One of the 
galleys was named the Dagon, being placed under the 
protection of the Philistine god of fish; whilst the one on 
which we ourselves were about to embark was dedicated to 
the Sidonian goddess Ashtoreth, to whom we were per- 
sonally bound by an especial reverence. Associated with 
these divinities, of course it was out of all character that the 
Gadita should retain her previous name; accordingly, at 
Himilco’s request, and in consideration that she was to sail 
at the head of the squadron, we gave her the designation of 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 21 





the Cadiros. Bodachmon, the high priest of Ashtoreth, 
undertook to present us with images of the various dcities 
to be kept on board the ships which were severally 
dedicated to them. 

Bodmilcar was assigned the command of the JJelkarth, 
and her attendant barques; Hasdrubal, a Sidonian, was 
appointed to the charge of the Dagon ; and the Cadbiros was 
confided to the care of Hamilcar, another Sidonian, a bold 
and experienced seaman. 

On board the Ashtoreth, my flag-ship, I took for my 
personal staff Hanno as scribe, Himilco as head pilot, and 
Hannibal of Arvad (whom I knew to be a strong, brave 
man) as commander of my men-at-arms. 

Fore and aft of each of the ships Hannibal placed two 
machines of his own invention for hurling stones and darts, 
and called “scorpions ;” thus, with the exception of the 
Cabiros, which being small could only carry two, every 
vessel was provided with four of these powerful engines. 

We worked hard throughout the greater part of the 
night and all the following morning in packing and stowing 
the freight of our little fleet as it lay in the inner basin of 
the trade harbour, and the Cadzros joined us to receive her 
portion of the cargo and provisions. Towards the middle 
of the day we found time for rest and refreshment. Antici- 
pating our departure on the morrow, several of us met for a 
frugal meal in a tent that had been erected for our accom- 
dation on one of the quays. The three captains, the 
commander of my men-at-arms, the chief pilot, and myself, 
had just seated ourselves at the table, when the curtain that 
covered the entrance was drawn aside by one of the sailors, 
and Hazael the eunuch was announced. 

Hazael entered with his usual lazy saunter; behind him 
was a train of six slaves carrying baskets, boxes, and 
bundles, and accompanied by a workman with a hammer 
and a variety of tools. Outside, mounted on white asses, 
were two women, one of them closely veiled; the face of 
the other was uncovered, and by her red skull-cap with 


22 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





its gold band and dependent white veil, as well as by 
her frizzled hair and prominent features, I recognised her 
at once as a daughter of Israel. 

“We have come,” said the eunuch, without pretence of 
courteous salutation, “to take possession of our berths, and 
to stow away our baggage.” 

Hanno started to his feet. I laid my hand upon his 
arm, and asked him what he was about to do. 

“To stow away the baggage for them,” 
adding, “unless, captain, you forbid me.” 


he replied ; 





“ Better for you,” I continued, “to remain where you are ; 
I have other business for you to do. This falls best to 
Himilco’s duty. Go, Himilco,” I said, turning to the pilot, 
“go and assist Hazael to arrange his property and see to 
the accommodation of the women.” 

Himilco emptied his glass, and, not without a longing 
glance towards the jar of wine round which we were sitting, 
left the tent. Hanno, who had fallen back to his seat with 
an assumed air of indifference, now asked: 

“And what is the business for which you want me?” 

“You must go,’ I answered, “to the temple of Ashtoreth 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 24j 





to prepare for our sacrifice to-morrow : you must procure 
us some birds to take with us on board our ships; in 
stormy weather they will show us which way lies the land: 
you must find the naval suffect, and deliver him a list of all 
the crews, and a catalogue of all the cargoes ; most of all, 
you must wait upon the royal treasurer and furnish him 
with an abstract of all accounts. Is not all this enough for 
you to do?” 

“No time, I see, then, for me to lose,” said Hanno, 
with impetuous eagerness; and snatching up his papyrus 
roll, he ran hastily away. It was my impression, as I 
caught sight of him through the half-opened curtain 
of the tent, that he turned, not in the direction of the 
temple, but towards the harbour-basin; however, when 
he came back in the evening all his commissions had been 
fully and faithfully executed, and I thought no more of 
the matter. 

On his return he was accompanied by one of the officials 
of the temple, carrying on his head some large bird-cages 
made of palm-wicker. Hanno himself held a smaller cage, 
containing four pigeons of a rarer sort, a beautiful shot 
plumage glittering gaily on their breasts. 

“Tf these birds don’t bring us good luck,” he said, “I am 
sure no others will ; they come straight from the temple of 
Ashtoreth, and were handed over to me by the priestess 
herself, who made me promise that they should be prized 
according to their worth.” 

Each of the captains selected his proper share of the 
birds, with the exception of Bodmilcar, who contemptuously 
refused. 

“Don’t the birds suit you?” said Hanno; “what's the 
matter with them ?” 

“T want no pigeons,” retorted Bodmilcar; “ravens are 
the birds for me, and I have taken enough of them on 
board already.” 

Hanno turned his back; but Himilco, who had witnessed 
what was passing, remarked : 


24 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Fortunate for the passengers that they will not be on 
board the Melkarth. Far more congenial, I should think, 
the cooing of doves than the croaking of ravens, to the ears 
of an Ionian !” 

“Tonian!” ejaculated Bodmilcar, turning pale, “is the 
slave an Ionian ?” 

In an instant I gave Himilco a sharp dig below the 
ribs to recall him to his senses, and as quickly he clapped 
his finger on his forehead, pretending to recollect himself : 
“No, no; not an Ionian; I meana Lydian.” And turning 
round to me he asked me whether he was right. 

I made a sort of a gesture which I hoped would satisfy 
Bodmilcar, but he was manifestly still agitated ; he made 
no further remark, but shortly afterwards quitted the room, 
mumbling unintelligibly as he went. As soon as his back 
was fairly turned, Hanno, who had been seated quietly 
arranging his papyrus leaves, rose from his seat, and 
advancing towards the door, made a low and solemn bow, 
a proceeding on his part that caused Himilco to burst 
into a roar of laughter. 

“Our friend Bodmilcar,” remarked Hannibal, “seems to 
be rather a morose sort of gentleman.” 

“Nothing of the sort, I assure you,’ said Hanno, 
satirically ; “I hardly know a man of a brighter and more 
genial temperament; however, I confess that we may 
thank our stars that we have not to sail in the same ship 
with him.” 

Hannibal smiled, in token of assent. 

Time to retire for the night had now arrived. We in- 
dulged in a parting glass, in recognition of our mutual 
hopes for the successful issue of the enterprise before us, 
and with no little emotion, parted to seek the repose which 
should prepare us for the ceremonial of the morrow. 

Early in the morning I repaired to the arsenal, but not 
too soon to find the crews assembled each round its own 
captain. Hannibal had been successful in collecting 
together all the archers and the men-at-arms. Every 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 25 





captain was attended by his own trumpeter, in a scarlet 
tunic, the trumpeter of the military captain being dis- 
tinguished by the magnitude of his trumpet, which was 
double the size of the others. 

With effective precision Hannibal had arranged his 
soldiers in their ranks. The first rank was composed of 
twenty archers in white tunics, their heads covered with 
white linen caps, which were encircled by a band of 
leather studded with nails, and of which the ends hung 
down behind. They all wore scarlet waistbands, in which 
were inserted ivory-handled broadswords; their quivers 
were attached to a belt of ox-hide, that passed over the 
shoulder, and was ornamented with a profusion of copper 
studs. In his hand every one carried his long Chaldean 
bow, the upper extremity of which was carved to represent 
a goose’s head. Next behind the archers were two ranks 
of armed men, twenty in each rank: they wore cuirasses 
composed of small plates of polished copper, and had 
helmets of the same material. Their tunics were scarlet, 
and hung below the cuirasses ; on the left of their belts was 
a strong Chalcidian sword, and on the right an ivory-hilted 
dagger ; one hand carried a large circular shield, ornamented 
in the centre with a deep-red copper figure of the sun; the 
other hand bore a lance, furnished with a long sharp point 
of bronze. 

Hannibal stood at the head of his troop. He wore a 
Lydian helmet, surmounted with a silver crest, which was 
further adorned with a scarlet plume. The image of the 
sun in the middle of his shield was likewise silver, and 
around that was a circle of the eleven planets. His sword- 
handle was carved into the figure of a lion, the lion’s head 
forming the guard. Like all the rest of the company he 
commanded, his feet and legs were protected by leather 
greaves or gaiters, laced up the front, and turned upwards 
at the point in the Jewish fashion. He no sooner saw me 
approaching than he unsheathed his sword, and_ his 
trumpeter sounded three blasts, an example which was 


26 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





followed by the other trumpeters, all blowing in unison, 
after which the captains and pilots advanced and made me 
a general salute. 

Our seamen were provided with neither belts, shields, nor 
helmets, but carried large cutlasses below their kitonets; 
they wore pointed caps that covered the nape of the 
neck, similar to those that are constantly seen at Sidon. 
Hannibal proposed that they should be drawn up and 
drilled like the soldiers, but I did not acquiesce in his 
suggestion; I preferred allowing them to rove about at 
their pleasure, knowing that they could be drilled far better 
on board ship, after they had been regularly assigned their 
proper place and duties. 

Hanno and Himilco, who had gone by my directions to 
see that everything was in readiness for the sacrificial rites, 
now joined us. They were accompanied by two men, each 
leading a superb bullock covered with purple housings, and 
with their horns decorated by fillets of embroidery, to which 
were attached little bells, which tinkled as they moved. 
Close in their rear followed my slave, carrying on his head 
a large basket of pomegranates, covered with a napkin 
embroidered with silver. 

After he had stationed our four trumpeters in couples 
behind his own, Hannibal gave me to understand that he 
was only waiting for me to give the signal to march. No 
sooner had I signified my permission, than he shouted out 
the word of command, and the archers and men-at-arms 
doubled file and faced about with an alertness that elicited 
universal commendation. The trumpeters led the way with 
a flourish that was well-nigh deafening ; the archers followed 
two and two; then came Hannibal at the head of his 
warriors, all shouldering their lances. My own place was 
the next; and I marched on, supported by Hanno and 
Himilco, and immediately followed by my slave and the 
two men who were in charge of the oxen devoted as 
victims for the altar; whilst behind us were the four 
troops of sailors, not marching in any special order, but 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 27 





each headed by its own captain and pilots. This irregular 
company brought up the rear. 

The thoroughfares along which we passed were decorated 
gaily. In honour of the great yearly festival of Melkarth, 
which attracted the mass of all the surrounding population, 
they were profusely hung with coloured canvas of many a 
hue, and floating streamers of linen, dyed with the richest 
shades of purple, orange, green, and vermilion were inter- 
spersed amongst waving branches of palms and massy 
boughs of cedar. Each separate window was a separate 
centre of display. The people, in holiday attire, were 
wending their way in crowds in the direction of the island 
upon which stands the temple of Melkarth, but they stood 
aside in every portico to allow us to proceed; they were 
eager in their inquiries as to the meaning and purpose 
of our formal progress through the streets; and when they 
understood that we were marching to the shrine of the 
goddess Ashtoreth to make our sacrifice, and to intreat 
her favour upon an expedition to Tarshish which we were 
about to make, they rent .the air with their boisterous 
acclamations. Men expressed their wonder at the con- 
course of our sailors and the quality of our oxen; women 
admired our attire and the carriage of our officers, being 
especially lavish in their praise of Hanno; the children 
ran after the procession, attracted equally by the glittering 
crest in Hannibal’s helmet, by the glowing red of the 
trumpeters’ tunics, and the swelling notes of their martial 
music. Every one was unanimous in declaring that never 
before had so magnificent a retinue Icft a Phoenician city 
on a distant enterprise. 

As we passed along beneath the sycamines in front of 
the King’s palace, the vast concourse that had assembled 
in readiness for the royal procession parted asunder to 
allow us room to pass, and the King’s trumpeter and 
musicians, who were stationed at the gateway, broke out into 
strains of welcome. A messenger was observed hurrying 
down from the palace, and it was soon known that he came 


28 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





with orders for us to halt. Hannibal immediately made 
his men face about ; the sailors, as it were involuntarily, 
turned towards the palace, and I myself, with Hanno and 
Himilco, advanced in the direction of the window at which 
the King is accustomed to show himself to his people, and 
which is easily distinguishable from the others by the 
gilding and tapestried hangings with which it is decorated. 
Meanwhile our trumpeters had taken up the strains of the 
royal march in concert with the King’s musicians, and 
the melody was re-echoed by various bands in other 
quarters of the palace-yard. 

Only a short time elapsed before the King presented 
himself at the window. An attendant, gorgeously attired, 
held over the King’s head a purple canopy embroidered 
with gold and richly jewelled; behind him could be seen 
the glittering helmets and cuirasses of his body-guard. 
Without a word of preface, he called me forth by name; 
and having prostrated myself to the earth in deep obei- 
sance, in another moment I was standing with folded arms 
before him awaiting his commands. 

He spoke to this effect : 

“Mago! content I am with the preparation you have 
made. Well pleased I am with the way in which you 
have collected your seamen and equipped your warriors 
in behalf of my friend, my royal ally, King David. You 
quit these realms for the distant shores of Tarshish. May 
our guardian gods protect you! MHazael will deliver you 
the letters signed by my own hand, which you are to 
present to the various sovereigns who are my allies; to him 
I have further intrusted the papyrus roll on which my 
instructions are inscribed. Onwards now, fulfil your ob- 
lations to your goddess Ashtoreth. I go to render my 
sacrifice to our great Melkarth; but when I have dis- 
charged my vows, my purpose is to be myself a witness 
of your departure, and you shall not fail to have still 
further tokens of my favour.” 

Again I prostrated myself before the King, who then 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 29 





retired, leaving me to proceed upon my way, still heralded 
by the trumpets and greeted by the continuous accla- 
mations of the people. We had hardly turned away, when 
the great gate of the palace was thrown open, and, headed 
by a band composed of trumpets, sistra, tambourines, and 
flutes, there issued the grand procession on its way to 
the island upon which rose the columns of the temple of 
Melkarth, the supreme deity of Tyre. 

We had hardly reached the limit of the royal court-yard, 
when Bodmilcar, who had quickened his pace to overtake 
me, came to my side and said mysteriously, 

“ Melkarth is a great god!” 

“ Assuredly!” I said, but did not in the least compre- 
hend his meaning. 

“ A great god is Melkarth of the Tyrians,” he repeated. 
“ Melkarth requires greater sacrifices than Ashtoreth : his 
sacrifices are large as Moloch’s; and they are going to 
offer him some children to-day.” 

I assented, yet still failed to see his purpose; but after 
a little hesitation, he said: 

“Might it be permitted me to take my Tyrians and to 
join the worship of our own Melkarth ?” 

The discovery of his intention vexed me exceedingly ; 
it was mortifying to myself to see the number of my own 
retinue diminished, or to allow the dignity of our own ob- 
servances to Ashtoreth to be curtailed; but I felt that 
I had no alternative than to comply with his request to 
make his sacrifice to the god of his peculiar veneration 
Reluctantly I gave him my assent, and when we reached 
the steep street that led up to the elevated groves of 
“ Baaltis-Ashtoreth,”? I saw that, instead of continuing 
with us, he dropped out of our line and joined himself 
with about thirty of our sailors to a procession that was 
conducting a chariot, resplendent with gold, and sur- 
mounted by a canopy ornamented with plumes of ostrich- 
feathers. This chariot was conveying the children that 


1 Baaltis, feminine of Baal, lord. 


30 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





were to be offered as the victims of the sacrifice. To 
welcome the addition to the throng, the shouts of the 
populace and the clang of the cymbals burst forth with 
redoubled vehemence. 

“ How I hate that sacrificing of children!” said Hanno 
to me. 

“Yes;” I concurred, “but if Moloch and Melkarth 
demand it, what can be said ?” 

“With all due reverence for Moloch and Melkarth,” he 
continued, “I cannot but rejoice that Ashtoreth of Sidon 
makes no such request.” 

We had now turned into the pathway through the grove 
that winds up to the temple of Baaltis. By far the 
greater proportion of the temple-officials were absent, 
having gone to join the general celebration of the city in 
honour of Melkarth; only six priests and four priestesses 
remained. Seen through the hazy glow of the rising sun, 
the grove and temple looked surprisingly lovely, and one 
could hardly help being conscious of some feeling of regret 
at having to leave such charming scenes. But amidst all 
the fascination of the prospect, I realised how a perpetual 
residence in such an abode would make a man effeminate, 
and unfit him for peril and adventure; and proudly I 
recalled the recollection that apart from the enterprise of 
her sons, Phoenicia could have known no luxury: it was her 
commerce that had brought her wealth ; and had it not been 
for their bold and undaunted navigation, the people might 
have seen their shores the prey of invading kings, 

Hanno had manifestly been under a like influence, and 
had been following a kindred train of thought. 

“Yes,” he said, as if uttering aloud the conclusion of 
his own reflections; “yes, even if Pharaoh, Melek-David,! 
the Chaldeans and Assyrians all were to concentrate their 
hosts and fall on us Phoenicians, we could betake ourselves 
to our ships and brave them on the seas. Aye, though 


! Melek was the title of the Kings of Judah, as Pharaoh was that of the 
Kings of Egypt. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 31 





they should drive us out from our own domain, build ships, 
and encounter us upon the ocean where the supremacy has 
hitherto all of late been ours, yet we have Chittim, Utica, 
Carthage, Tarshish to fall back upon; the whole world is 
ours |” 

“True,” I replied ; “in a sense, the world is ours: but it 
is nothing except our own undaunted perseverance that 
has made it so. We have had no kings to lead us on to 
vanquish neighbouring states ; we have had no generals to 
gain us victories and acquire us power ; but depending only 
on our native resources, trusting simply to our own courage, 
and relying on the good protection of our gods, we have 
traversed regions that were unexplored, and discovered 
wealth that was unknown. And now, none dares to assail 
us; we command the respect of all. None too proud to 
ask our aid, none too independent to own our service. 
Who procures Melek-David his choicest timber, his silver 
and gold? Who provides Pharaoh with balm, his jewels, 
his copper and his tin? From whom does the Assyrian 
seek his purple and glass, his ivory and embroidery ? Who 
is the great purveyor of every luxury for every prince and 
magnate of the world? A Tyrian may well be proud 
when he claims all this for the mariners of Sidon and the 
merchant-princes of Phoenicia.” 

Stirred to emotion by my enthusiasm, Himilco took up 
the strain: “Yes; great and deservedly great is Tyre’s 
renown. May her spirit of adventure never flag! For my 
part, give me but the favour of Cabiros for my guiding star, 
and I would not exchange my peaked sea-cap and ragged 
kitonet for the tiara sparkling with its fleur-de-lys,’ and the 
mantle gorgeous with embroidered work that grace the 
King of Nineveh!” 

Whilst we were thus indulging the spirit of our national 
pride, the priests within had been lighting the altar-fires 
and preparing the sacrificial basins, some of which they 
filled with water, leaving the rest empty. Hannibal had 


' See note on Chap. IT. at end of Volume. 


32 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





drawn up his men in order upon the temple-steps, making 
an imposing array: he had just put them in the form of a 
crescent, of which the archers in double file at the top were 
the extremities, the centre being made by the men-at-arms, 
four deep, and below, an avenue was left for the progress 
of myself and my companions, the oxen being conducted 
into the temple by an entrance at the back. 

On our approach, our trumpeters gave a loud flourish, 
which was answered by the flutes and instruments within. 
The high priest advanced towards us and, in sonorous 
tones, exclaimed : 

“Let Mago, the Sidonian, the son of Maherbaal, now 
draw near. Commander of the expedition, he comes to 
present himself before the goddess. Let him now approach, 
and all his followers attend him !” 

Obedient to the summons, I ascended the steps, followed 
immediately by my slaves; Hanno and Hannibal were on 
my right hand; Hasdrubal, Hamilcar and Himilco on my 
left ; behind us was the general throng of sailors and of oars- 
men. At asign from Hannibal, the soldiers shouldered their 
bows and lances, and having faced about, entered the temple 
by the two side doors, and completely lined the edifice. 

An official proclaimed silence. “Order!” he shouted; 
“ Mago, son of Maherbaal, makes an offering for his people.” 

It was the work of but a short time to bring in the oxen, 
and have them slain and quartered, and while this was 
being done my slave distributed amongst us the pome- 
granates he had brought. The high priest with much 
formality presented me with the shoulder of one of the 
victims, upon which, according to rule, I laid a purse con- 
taining six shekels of coined money. The officiating priest 
accepted the offering, and while he was proclaiming my 
liberality aloud, the sacerdotal scribe was inscribing the 
names of myself and my captains, together with the 
amount of my donation, in the temple register. The chief 
priest then took the breasts of the victims and placed them 
upon the altar, whence the smoke ascended high towards 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 33 





the round window in the dome. The black stone at Sidon 
is the true goddess, but here at Tyre, Ashtoreth is merely 
represented by a statue. Standing with his face towards 
this, the priest made his invocation and chanted some 
prayers to music, which gradually died away into perfect 
silence. 

During the time that these ceremonies were proceeding, 
the remaining portions of the oxen were being steeped in 
the lavers, after which they were thrown into great caldrons, 
part to be boiled over the chafing-dishes in the temple- 
kitchen, and part to be cooked in the open air of the sacred 
groves. The sailors lent their ready assistance in kindling 
the fires and superintending the boilers, 

The chief priest next handed me one of the bullock’s 
breasts. I raised it on high with both hands before the 
goddess, and delivered it back to the priest, who turned it 
round three times, as if solemnly dedicating it to the deity 
on my behalf. Hanno went through a corresponding cere- 
mony with the other breast, which was turned round seven 
times in behalf of us all. 

I had given the scribe five shekels to provide us with 
bread for the entertainment, and in the name of the 
captains, pilots, and sailors, Hamilcar gave him eight shekels, 
a part to provide us with wine, a part as a free tribute to 
the goddess. He entered the several sums upon the 
registers, and the officiating priest again made a public 
announcement of our liberality. One after another we 
prostrated ourselves before the image of the goddess, the 
high priest made a short final invocation, and full of joy we 
withdrew from the temple to the adjacent grove. Ata sign 
from Hannibal, the soldiers, who had stood mute and 
motionless throughout the ceremony, fell out of their ranks, 
and rushing in wild confusion, mingled with the sailors to 
assist them in preparing the banquet. 

I took my seat at the foot of a noble cypress, and Hanno, 
Hannibal, and Gisgo, placed themselves as my supporters 
on either hand, Himilco charging himself with the duty of 

D 


34 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





superintending the filling of a large earthenware vase with 
wine. My slave arranged the drinking-cups by placing 
mine (which had a lion’s head at its mouth) in the centre, 
and disposing those of the captains in order round it. 
Hannibal's cup was of plated copper, with a stem and two 
handles, and embossed with flowers and bunches of grapes. 
Having done this, the slave went away, and returned 
ushering in two soldiers, who carried a huge caldron; 
they let the caldron down heavily on the ground, their 
cuirasses rattling again with their exertion. The lid of the 
caldron was at once removed ; a large basket of bread had 
been handed round preparatory to the repast, and each 
man having brought out the wooden knife and spoon that 
he carried at his waist, the whole of us set ourselves to 
enjoy an abundant meal. 

When the wine-cups had been distributed and charged, I 
rose from my seat, and raising my cup on high, drank to 
the health and welfare of the whole assembly. 

“A goodly draught is this!” said Hannibal, when he 
had drained his cup to the very dregs; “it is the wine of 
my own city Arvad; it gives life and strength to those 
that drink it; hence Arvad’s wide renown for wits and 
warriors.” 

* And Arvad’s warriors,” I said, turning to the captain, 
“ deserve their fame. By-the-by, have your wide wander- 
ings by sea and land ever taken you into Judea before ? 
Thither it is, you know, that we first direct our course.” 

“Truly, yes;” replied Hannibal, with his mouth full ; 
“this very sword that I am wearing, and this purple 
shoulder-belt, were presents from Joab, the general and 
cousin of the King. I commanded twenty archers under 
him at the battle of Gebah, when the Philistines were 
defeated at the mulberry groves. Nor was that the only 
time. I was garrisoned for a year or more at Hamath, 
with the troops of Nahari, Joab’s armour-bearer, one of 
David's thirty-seven mighty men. It was on returning 
thence that I had the command of the soldiers on board 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 35 





the ship of our friend Hasdrubal here, at the time when the 
galleys of Sidon were sent to engage the Cilician fleet.” 

“Aye, I have heard of that expedition,” said Himilco ; 
“at that time we were far away at Gades.” 

“ And we,” broke in Hamilcar, “were in the service of 
Pharaoh, sailing along the coast of Ethiopia, beyond the 
Sea of Reeds.’ What splendid shells were there, containing 
precious pearls! and one great fish there was that could 
swallow a man entire!” 

At this moment one of the young priestesses approached 
our party, and handed Hanno a small packet, carefully 
wrapped in linen. 

“ This,” she said to him, “is the image of Baaltis. Over 
it I have burnt the costliest perfumes; I have anointed it 
with the rarest ointments ; I have laid it before the goddess, 
who has graciously accepted it. To you, Sidonian, I now 
entrust it, and may it bring good fortune to yourself and 
all who share your enterprise.” 

The high priest came in person to deliver us the other 
images of the gods, that of Melkarth alone excepted, which 
Bodmilcar himself was to convey from the temple to which 
he had separately gone. 

The priestess offered to accompany us to our ships, that 
she might sprinkle the images on board before we took our 
departure. 

Himilco craved permission to carry the image of the 
Cabiros down to the quay before resigning it to the keeping 
of the captain. 

“ How about your vow of twenty shekels and a bullock that 
you made to the Cabiri ?” I asked him, as we rose to go, 

“That will have to wait,” he answered, “till I have come 
across that Tarshish rascal who deprived me of my eye. 
The patient gods, I have no doubt, will give me credit, and 
not require me to pay at once, or in advance.” 

Meantime Hanno had been uncovering his image of 
Ashtoreth, and was standing holding it in both hands and 


} Jam Souph, the Red Sea 


36: THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





gazing at it with the profoundest admiration. It was an 
alabaster figure, with a necklace of three rows of gold beads 
and a pointed cap, beneath which flowed ample masses of 
wavy hair. 

“J, too,” said Hanno, “have made a vow to my goddess, 
but she has promised to abide my time, and to tarry till my 
expectations and my longings are fulfilled ;” and as he 
spoke, he stooped and kissed the faceof the image. I know 
not whether it was imagination on my part, but I certainly 
thought the cypresses around gave a soft yet perceptible 
rustle in response to his words. Perhaps the priestess 
observed it also, for she smiled on me, and laid her hand 
on Hanno’s shoulder. 

“ But now, Captain Mago,” she cried, “let us start. The 
time for embarkation is at hand, and the goddess pronounces 
that it is a favourable hour, Come, let us proceed!” 

“To your ships, men; to your ships!” I shouted; and 
turning for a moment towards the temple, said, “ Farewell, 
Baaltis, Queen of Heaven: to-night thou shalt behold us on 
the waters of the Great Sea!” 

Hannibal, who had resumed his helmet, made a signal 
to the trumpeters to summon the soldiers and _ sailors. 
Hanno and the priestess came on one side of me ; Himilco, 
carrying the image of his god, took his place on the other, 
and in the same order in which it had come, our cortéve 
wended its way along the decorated streets down towards 
the port. The roads adjacent to the harbour and all 
the quays were so densely thronged, that it was only with 
considerable difficulty that we could force our way along. 
Every nation seemed to make its contribution to the crowd: 
besides the native Phoenicians, there were Syrians in their 
fringed and bordered robes; Chaldeans with their frizzled 
beards ; and Jews in their short tunics and long gaiters, with 
panther-skins thrown across their shoulders. Again, there 
were Lydians with bands around their foreheads; Egyp- 
tians, some with shorn heads, and some with enormous 
wigs ; Chalybeans, wild in aspect, and half naked; and 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 37 


s 





men of Caucasus, gigantic in size and strength. Many a 
far distant land had sent its sons to our Pheenician cities 
as the headquarters and the home of industry and com- 
merce; Arabs and Midianites were here looking with 
astonishment at the height of the houses, and bewildered at 
the multitude of the population; whilst the Scythians of 
Thogarma, their legs strap-bound, moved with heavy 
strides, and looked around amazed, perplexed at the absence 
alike of horses and of chariots from the narrow streets. 

The air was filled with songs and shouts of many a 
different tongue; the people jostled one another in their 
eagerness to catch a sight of whatever company came last 
in view. Every band of musicians enlisted its own 
admirers; every troop of priests attracted the closest 
scrutiny. Every regiment with its painted shield excited 
a perpetual interest; and as our own procession, with 
its trumpeters and soldiers and promiscuous groups of 
sailors, could not fail to draw a large and curious concourse, 
it was in the midst of a veritable whirl that we passed the 
arsenal and made our way to the reserved quay, where 
our ships, poops inward to the shore, had been left under 
the care of a few sailors. 

Bodmilcar and the eunuch had arrived before us, and 
were standing in eager conversation on the gangway that 
led to the poop of the Melkarth. As soon as they 
observed us, they stopped abruptly, and Bodmilcar whistled 
for his sailors, whilst the eunuch advanced to meet me. 

“Ts all your baggage duly stowed on board?” I asked 
Hazael. 

“It is,” he answered; “but it disappoints me much 
that our berths have not been made upon this larger 
ship; here we might have far more space and comfort : 
however, it matters little; at the first point we touch we 
can make a change. Bodmilcar thinks it will be best 
we should.” 

“It cannot be,’ I said; “the King’s slave has been 
entrusted to mysclf, and under my supervision she must 


38 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





be. The Melkarth is a transport, and the captain of a 
transport has no concern with passengers. I must hear no 
more of this. Do I understand aright that you have 
letters for me from the King ?” 

Without one word in reply, the eunuch handed me a box 
of sandal-wood, which I opened, and found it to contain 
several sheets of papyrus, on which were written various 
instructions to myself. 

I was about to give orders to my trumpeter to pro- 
claim silence, but before the words were out of my mouth, 
Bodmilcar rushed forward and threw himself into my 
arms, 

“T have been sacrificing to Melkarth,” he exclaimed ; 
“T have paid my vows tc my god, and I must unburden 
my conscience. I wish to ask pardon of any and ofall to 
whom I have shown insolence or ill-temper.” 

Without hesitation, Hanno offered him his hand, assuring 
him that he fully forgave everything that had happened in 
the past, and that, forgetting all previous quarrels, for the 
future he would show him all proper deference, and yield 
to his authority. Pleased with this open reconciliation, I 
expressed my satisfaction that we were able thus to set 
out with so universal a spirit of harmony and of concord. 

In the meanwhile the captains had severally collected 
their crews, and Hannibal had told off his men-at-arms, 
reserving ten archers and ten soldiers for our own ship. 
The priestess then, with the accustomed solemnities, pre- 
sented each vessel with the image of its own peculiar 
divinity. 

Before we started, our host, with whom we had been 
sojourning, accompanied by his wife and son, forced his way 
through the guards that had been keeping the inclosure, 
and came in haste to me. 

“ Mago, dear friend,” he said, “I could not suffer you to go 
without seeing you once more. Here are cakes, and here 
is a basket of dried grapes; but, most of all, here are two 
goat-skins of genuine nectar. Accept them from me in 


a a 


murs 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, . 3G 





token of my good-will. Farewell, and the gods grant you 
a prosperous voyage!” 

“ Farewell, honest pilot,” said my host’s wife to Himilco ; 
“for you I have brought this goat-skin of Byblos, because I 
know there is no wine you like so well.” 

“Thanks, good hostess, many thanks,” replied Himilco ; 
“to me there is no wine that can compare with the rich 
and luxurious produce of Pheenicia. I shall not forget 
your bounty, and if only our star shall favour us, and the 
Cabiros shall safely bring us home again, I promise to 
bring you such a gift as shall make the Tyrian women die 
with envy.” 

The son, a youth of about sixteen, was devotedly 
attached to Hanno, and only with the greatest difficulty 
could be dissuaded from accompanying him upon his voyage. 
As a farewell gift, he had brought his friend a large packet 
of the choicest reeds for writing ; and the two parted with 
mutual expressions of affection. 

Amongst those present there was yet another whom I 
regarded with the profoundest reverence, and whose know- 
ledge was accounted as little short of divine. This was 
an aged priest, named Sanchoniathon,’ the historian and 
chronicler of past events; although no traveller himself, 
he had acquired the fullest information concerning well- 
nigh every country of the world. 

Addressing himself to me, he said: “Mago, my son, 
Hanno your scribe has undertaken to transmit to me, in 
writing, an account of whatever he may see rare or wonder- 
ful in the far-off lands to which you go; his genius seems 
bright and quick, but his youth renders him wild and 
unstable as a kid. Is it too much to ask of you that you 
will urge him on to keep his word ?” 

“To gratify you, my father,” said Hanno, “I will do all 
I can to control the caprices and irregularities of my youth. 
My own indebtedness to you is great. I trust that I may 


1] am guilty of an anachronism here for the mere satisfaction of intro- 
ducing the name of the great historian. 


40 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





not forget the lessons you have taught me; and if I can 
render any aid in enabling you to keep the Pheenicians in- 
formed of the wonders of the world, I shall be ready to 
show myself a pupil worthy of my master.” 

The aged Sanchoniathon then gave us his blessing. He 
had scarcely concluded his benediction when the priestess 
of Ashtoreth came by, returning from the ships. As she 
passed Hanno I distinctly heard her say in an undertone : 

“She is as good as she is beautiful!” 

“Hush!” he murmured; “I must forget her! Happy 
Pharaoh !” 

Everything being reported ready, I ordered the trumpeters 
to sound the signal for departure, and we proceeded to 
embark. The first man to step on board was old Gisgo, 
the pilot of the Cadiros, commonly known as Gisgo the 
Celt, and perhaps still more frequently spoken of as Gisgo 
the Earless. He had been eight times on a voyage to the 
Rhone, and the story went that on one of his visits there he 
had married a Celtic wife, with yellow hair, who was still 
awaiting him in her native forests; on another occasion he 
had been taken prisoner by the Siculians, who had cut off 
both his ears. Having mounted the poop, the old man 
waved his cap and shouted cheerily : 

“Mariners, mariners all! quick and ready! quick on 
board! rulers of the ocean! sons of Ashtoreth! listen to 
your captain’s call. Tyrians and Sidonians! To sea! to 
sea! and long live Captain Mago!” 

The men all hastened to their several ships, and as soon 
as I had taken my station on the raised bench of the poop 
of the Ashtoreth, my standard was hoisted as the signal of 
departure, the gangways were removed, the boathooks were 
driven vigorously towards the facing of the quay, and we 
were On our way. 

The Cadiros, with its twenty-two oarsmen, took the lead ; 
next came the Asktoreth; the Dagon towed the Melkarth, 
which was too large to hoist a sail in port. Our little 
squadron floated on past the numerous ships that lined 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 41 





the quays, making its way through crowds of boats that 
darted to and fro, conveying the countless visitors to the 
island where the feast of Melkarth was still in course of 
‘celebration. Our trumpeters continued to blow, our oars 
rose and fell in regular cadence, and the voices of thousands 
of spectators kept up a perpetual acclamation. 

From my own position I could overlook the decks of all 
the other vessels. Hanno was at my side, and Himilco 
stood at the bow giving his orders to the helmsman. Han- 
nibal had made his warriors hang their shields over the 






AHR IRINA) 
y emia aS 


ship’s sides; every one had betakcn himself to his proper 
post, Hazael the eunuch being no exception, as he had 
retired to the privacy of his own cabin. 

Passing the mouth of the trade-harbour, with its two 
watch-towers, we entered the canal that led to the island ; 
it was covered with boats decorated with holiday-trappings ; 
above it rose the palace of the naval suffect, its terraces all 
decked with coloured hangings, and throneed with a motley 
crowd. Beyond again, in the centre of the island, I could 
see the dome of the temple of Melkarth, the blue smoke of 


42 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





the sacrifices rising high above its ochred roof. I could even 
hear the uproarious clanging of the cymbals and the other 
instruments within. 

The royal galley, escorted by the galley of the naval 
suffect, came forth to meet us. On the poop of the royal 
vessel was a raised platform, which shone as if it were a 
mass of solid metal, being covered entirely with cloth of 
gold and silver. The oars were faced with ivory ; the sails 
were embroidered with silver thread, with representations 
of Melkarth, Moloch, and Ashtoreth, the large hyacinth- 
coloured sail in the middle being worked with green to 
imitate waves, from which rose the figure of Ashtoreth 
protecting the fish from the fury of Dagon. A full band of 
musicians was playing at the bows, and, on deck, a number 
of graceful women, wearing state tiaras and triple necklaces, 
performed upon gaily painted tambourines, and waved light 
rods adorned with little bells and tassels of pale green 
and purple. At the stern sat King Hiram. He wore a 
Pheenician cap, his beard was frizzled in the Syrian fashion, 
and he had two gold bracelets on each arm. His throne 
was of gold and enamel; the back of it was carved into the 
image of a ship, and the arms were representations of 
dolphins. In attendance, standing with folded arms, were 
his scribe and the keeper of the seals; behind him stood 
two officers, one of them holding the purple canopy of state, 
fringed with gold, the other carrying the royal standard, 
which bore, worked in silver on a hyacinth-coloured ground, 
representations of the sun and the planets, with the crescent 
moon above. The suffects were on board the Admiralty 
galley, surrounded by guards in Lydian helmets, whose 
silver shields and cuirasses glittered brightly in the sun. 

At sight of the royal cortége I ordered my men to ship 
their oars and to bring our vessels to a standstill. A 
corresponding order was given to the royal ships, and it 
was but the work of a few minutes for the slaves to throw 
the ebony gangway across, and to cover it with a brilliant 
carpet. King Hiram rose from his seat and stepped ov 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 43 





board, and I had the honour of conducting him all over my 
vessel, and of showing him the double deck, the stowage of 
the cargo, and the great earthen reservoirs of water. He 
went, unaccompanied, to visit the berth that had been 
provided for the slave, and before leaving, presented me, 
through his treasurer, with two talents of silver. When he 
had returned to his throne, the temporary passage was 
withdrawn, and at a signal from me, our hundred and 
twenty-two oars cleft the water without a splash. The 
trumpets sounded ; soldiers, sailors, rowers, raised a tre- 
mendous cheer, and from my place I shouted alond: 

“ Farewell, my King! Tyre and Phcenicia, farewell! And 
now, children of Ashtoreth, my crew, forwards, forwards !” 

Quickly the squadron made its way past the two towers 
that guarded the military harbour, and on which perpetual 
watch was kept. I cast one look back at the canal with 
its swarm of gala-boats; at the quays still thronged with 
the motley crowd; at the city, rising like a vast white 
amphitheatre intersected by the threading of its narrow, 
crooked streets ; at the mass of the yellow temple of Mel- 
karth ; at the great Admiralty Palace, above which were 
the glittering walls of the temple of Baaltis; and, last of 
all, at the heights of Libanus beyond, standing out green 
and black against the background of the sky. - I turned 
away to give my attention to the ships that were dashing 
the snowy foam from their prows. The Cadzros was riding 
the waves like a dolphin; the J/e/karth, now no longer in 
tow, and the Dagon were crowded with sail. 

A favourable wind bore us onwards to the south-west, 
so that I gave orders that the galleys should hoist their 
sails, and that half the rowers should ship their oars and 
take an interval of rest. I sat down and gazed upon the 
broad and glittering ocean, 

We were now fairly on our way to Tarshish., 


44 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHAPTER: It. 


CHAMAI RECOGNISED BY THE ATTENDANT OF THE SLAVE, 


IN order to clear the White Cape in the south-west, I took 
an oblique course across the bay, on the north of which 
stands the city of Tyre. From White Cape’ I should sight 
the distant promontory of Mount Carmel, and avoiding 
the deep waters of the bay to the north of this point, I 
should double it and coast along direct to Joppa. 

The Cadiros was quite capable of making 1300 stadia? in 
twenty-four hours ; but the gaoul, which was always in ordi- 
nary weather worked by sails and was now heavily laden, 
could not attain that speed; neither could the galleys. I 
succeeded in accomplishing a rate of 1000 stadia in the 
twenty-four hours, so that in about three hours after our 
departure we had rounded White Cape, and holding on by 
a south-west course, by nightfall had lost sight of land. To- 
wards midnight Himilco roused me with the announcement 
that we were off Mount Carmel. I could just discern its bluff 
peak standing out in the moonlight, and gave instructions 
that our course should be changed to the south; at the 
same time I took the precaution to signal to the Me/karth 
to clew up her sail and use her oars, because we were again 
approaching the shore. A brisk breeze in the morning 
brought us in sight of the low, level coast of Palestine, 
and before noon we recognised Joppa by its elevated 
towers and surrounding groves of palms and wild fig-trees. 


1 Now Ras-el-Abiad. 
* That is, 324 geographical miles, the rate given by Herodotus. 


Sv atvg 20vf oF 


ALATYS AW 


~—— 102 








(OSA fe Pg 











Hi 
qu 
Mii H 
i} i | 









































THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 45 





After passing the mouth of a river which empties itself 
about forty stadia north of the port, the Cadzros neared the 
shore, while the JJZe/karth and the two galleys, owing to 
the shallowness of the water, were brought to anchor at 
about a stadium and a half away. 

The harbour of Joppa is insignificant, and has neither 
basins nor piers; scattered about the beach are a few 
cabins and dilapidated hovels, in the midst of which rises 
the small fortress of rubble built by King David when he 
opened traffic with the Phcenicians, and made Joppa the 
port whither the firs and cedars hewn down in Lebanon 
were brought on floats. A large Phoenician barque, and 
a miserable Egyptian craft, with a goose as its figure-head, 
were ‘stranded in the mud below the beach, and on the 
beach itself were a few wretched boats belonging to the 
Jewish fishermen. 

Taking Hanno and Hannibal with me, I went on shore 
in one of my small boats, for the purpose of paying a visit 
to the governor in command of the little garrison that 
occupied the fortress. Before, however, we had gone far, 
we saw the governor himself coming to meet us, followed 
by about fifteen men armed with swords, lances, and square 
shields. They wore linen girdles, fastened at the side by 
a strap, which was finished off at the end with a cut and 
polished flint. Their heads were bare, but their hair was 
arranged in a lot of little tresses; upon their feet and legs 
were long laced gaiters, and a panther’s skin, according 
to Jewish habit, was thrown across their shoulders. The 
captain alone was distinguished by a cuirass, which was 
of copper, and badly made. As soon as I was within a 
rew paces of him I stopped and made him my salute, a 
courtesy which he acknowledged, giving me to understand 
that he was already aware I came as an envoy from King 
Hiram. 

“Peace be with youl” -he said; “Having been informed 
of your arrival, I have come to offer you the escort to 
Jerusalem which you require. But now, I beg you, come 


46 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





to the fortress and partake of what hospitality we have 
it in our power to give.” 

We were pleased at our reception, and followed our host 
to the vaulted gate of the tower that overhung the fortress. 
He conducted us to a lofty chamber overlooking the sea, 
and made his servants spread a carpet over the floor, that 
was but roughly paved. The walls of the room were of the 
coarsest rubble and perfectly bare, the entire building being 
of the most meagre construction. Water, bread, dried figs, 
and cheese was the simple fare that was set before us, to 
which, however, there was added some very palatable wine, 
which the Jews, since their conquest of Syria, had been 
able to procure from Helbon. 

While the repast was being prepared we interchanged 
mutual inquiries about ourselves and our respective kings, 
but the meal was no sooner ready than the Jewish com- 
mandant set us the example of eating by cramming his 
mouth chockfull of cheese. 

Presently, as he observed me throwing glances round the 
room, he said: 

“Ah, yes, you are thinking that we have not your 
Phoenician skill in building! We lack your taste and 
finish. But, remember, we have not your wealth nor your 
materials. However, you must recollect that this is only 
a poor straggling village; patience! and you shall see our 
populous cities, as well as our fertile country, before you 
reach Jerusalem.” 

“ The land of Judah,” said Hannibal, “is not unknown 
tome. I have traversed it already, and can bear witness 
to its richness and fertility; truly it is a land of olives, 
dates, and corn and wine. And not only are you husband- 
men, you are proud of being warriors. Every nation has 
its own pursuit. We men of Tyre and Sidon for the most 
part are sailors full of ardour, and merchants full of enter- 
prise: but yet I think we may boast of our warriors, too: 
Arvad, for instance, need not be ashamed of the generals 
she can show.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 47 





“ True enough,” rejoined the other, as his eye rested with 
involuntary admiration on Hannibal’s arms and cuirass, 
“and no doubt Pheenician soldiers are well equipped.” 

“TI can tell you,” said Hannibal, “something that may 
perhaps surprise you. In spite of your keeping no standing 
army, and of your never admitting strangers into your 
service, I have myself served under your king. It happened 
in this way: when I was very young I was taken to the 
town of Cana, in the heritage of the sons of Asher; I grew 
up as a child of the tribe, and eventually, at the regular 
age, I was enlisted into your army.” 

The Jewish captain was delighted ; he rose and embraced 
Hannibal, and in token of their friendship they partook of 
a cup of wine, which was afterwards passed on to Hanno 
and myself. “I belong,” he said, “to the tribe of Judah, 
through whose inheritance we shall have to pass as we go 
to Jerusalem. The King is maintaining some troops at his 
own expense, and I am one of the captains of twenty. My 
mission here is to await your arrival ; the requisite horses and 
asses are provided for your journey, and you may start when- 
ever it suits your wishes ; this very evening, if you choose.” 

“ Impossible to-night,” I answered; “I cannot be absent 
from the ships until I have returned and made all things 
ready. To-morrow, however, I shall be prepared.” 

As there seemed time at our disposal, he inquired whether 
he might not be permitted to visit our ships, suggesting 
that as we were Phcenicians, we might probably have com- 
modities to offer that they might be glad to purchase. 

I explained that being in the royal service we were not 
carrying any goods for commercial transactions, but had 
only such articles on board as we hoped to barter for the 
provisions that we might require on our way. 

“Tn that case,” he said, “I may perchance further your 
designs ; we have flocks of goats, and we have balm and 
olives in abundance. I will serve you in any way I can. 
I am Chamai, the son of Rehaiah ; my father is well known 
throughout the country.” 


48 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





I acquiesced in his wish of visiting our ships, and he 
followed me down after a very short interval. 

During my absence the sailors had been displaying on 
the beach the few articles that they had brought for their 
own private benefit, and were driving a briskish trade with 
the fishermen and shepherds that had gathered round them. 
On board the MJelkarth some of the barter-goods were 
already unpacked, and Hanno was not long in drawing up 
a list of such things as I was ready to part with, and such 
as I was anxious to procure in exchange. The additions 
to my store of which I was in especial need were ten 
measures of grain, two measures of oil, a barrel of olives, 
half a measure of balm, six baskets of dried figs, six baskets 
of dates, and fifty cheeses; and I further instructed Bod- 
milcar, who superintended the exchanges, to purchase some 
sheep and kids, in order that our men should be adequately 
supplied with fresh meat until our arrival in Egypt. Other 
supplies would be requisite ; but for these I reckoned upon 
the generosity of King David, and upon what I should be 
able to buy at Jerusalem. 

Chamai expressed his great delight at the order and 
arrangement of our ships; and as almost everything pre- 
sented some feature of novelty to him, he could hardly find 
words to describe his admiration. The discipline of the 
crews and the completeness of the rigging seemed equally 
to fill him with surprise. He accepted my invitation to 
remain to supper ; and as we were all seated on the poop 
of the Ashtoreth, he gave a deep sigh, and exclaimed : 

“ How glorious your long voyages are! How glorious 
to be able to obtain the wealth that the Great Sea can 
give! Here, in our mountains, we are as ignorant as goats. 
From time to time we may plunder a few villages, but our 
chiefs always get the lion’s share of the prey, which, after 
all, is meagre enough compared with what you gain by 
commerce.” | 

I reminded him how that there was something more 
to charm an adventurer on the seas than merely getting 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 49 





wealth; there was the advantage of seeing the wonders of 
the world. 

“ Ah, yes,” he assented. “I have heard your Pheenician 
merchants tell of enormous serpents, and of fishes fifty 
cubits long. I have listened to their tales of valleys full 
of precious stones, and mines with inexhaustible stores of 
silver and of gold. I know, too, that they relate wonderful 
stories about giants, and about mountains that belch forth 
fire and smoke.” 

“No doubt,” I said, “you must allow a little for exag- 
geration in travellers’ tales ; but beyond a question there 
are strange sights for travellers to see.” 

“ And do you not,” he asked, “ occasionally have to fight ? 
I have had some experience in fighting; I have slain 
Moabites and Philistines with my own hand. I could fight 
again; and if you are likely to have any more fighting I 
should like to go with you. Could you not take me?” 

Hannibal laid his hand upon Chamai’s shoulder, and said : 
“Look here, captain. If you are in earnest, perhaps that 
might be done. I want forty recruits as archers. Would 
it be in your power to get them for us ?” 

“Yes, yes!” he cried eagerly, adding his accustomed 
oath, “in the name of El, the Lord of hosts.” 

“Get them then, ’ljsaid;.“and if they are forty ‘sturdy 
fellows, fit for soldiers, you shall have the command of 
them, under Hannibal.” I further delighted him by pro- 
mising him a new cuirass, and a Chalybean dagger with an 
ivory handle. 

“hone live the King t” he cried;in-an ecstasy of joy: 
and Hannibal rubbed his hands with glee at the pro- 
spect of so successfully recruiting the number of his troops, 
saying that now they might face the world and conquer 
kingdoms. 

“Whatever kingdoms I conquer,” broke in Hanno, “I 
shall sell forthwith, subjects and all; I shall put them up 
to auction to the highest bidder, and shall purchase my 
palace with the proceeds. You, Himilco, shall be appointed 

E 


50 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





cup-bearer. ‘When the goat is gardener, the goat-skins are 
taken care of ;’ you know the proverb.” 

“But instead of talking about your feast,” said Himilco, 
drily, “we may as well proceed to enjoy our own;” and he 
moved towards the table on which the supper had now 
been laid. 

We had hardly commenced our repast, when a sailor 
came from Bodmilcar to announce that he had completed 
all his purchases. I inquired why the captain himself 
did not come to join our party. The man said that he 
could give no other reason than that he believed Bodmilcar 
had invited the eunuch to supper with him on board the 
Melkarth. 

Hanno turned pale. 

“That rascally eunuch, I fear, is manceuvring some 
mischief,” I said, when the sailor had left us; “however, 
let us hope that the women are not in the plot.” 

Hanno was on the point of hurrying off immediately to 
the cabin, when the door opened, and the waiting-maid 
made her appearance, followed by her mistress, closely 
veiled. 

“Never fear, captain,” said the maid, smiling ; “the hawk 
may fly, but the doves do not follow.” 

“Did he tell you to follow him ?” I asked angrily. 

“He did not insist upon it,” replied the girl; “and we 
preferred remaining here; we had no taste for taking up 
our quarters on that big black ship.” 

I told her that she had only done right, and that I 
should reprimand Hazael most severely if he made the 
slightest attempt at removing them from my immediate 
supervision. She then made a request, to which I willingly 
acceded, that they might enjoy a stroll in the fresh air 
upon the deck; but before she turned away, Chamai, who 
had hitherto been engrossed in some military discussion 
with Hannibal, caught sight of her face, and suddenly 
starting to his feet, exclaimed: 

‘ Abigail, you here!” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 5) 





“Chamai, is it you?” she answered ; and in an instant 
they were grasping each other’s hands; and gazing in each 
other’s eyes, they wept aloud. 

As soon as Chamai had recovered his composure, he 
asked her by what strange chance it happened that she 
was on board a Phoenician vessel. 

“Did you not know,” she asked in return, “that the 
Philistines came down on Guedor, our native village, and 
carried me off to Askelon, and afterwards sold me to the 
Tyrians ?” 

“No,” he said; “all this is new to me. I was away in 
the north, fighting against the King of Zobah, and since 
that time, have not been home.” 

It did not take Abigail long to regain all her wonted 
cheerfulness and vivacity ; and she went on to tell how she 
had been purchased by the King of Tyre, and was now on 
her way to Egypt in attendance upon the Ionian lady, 
whom King Hiram had bought at the same time as herself, 
and whom he was now sending as a present to Pharaoh. 

Chamai, in his turn, informed her that he was to be 
allowed to accompany us in our expedition, but was loud 
in expressing his regret that the voyage to Egypt would be 
so quickly over ; he could have wished, he said, that it would 
take as long as his forefathers’ wandering in the wilderness. 

Touched by the incident of this mutual recognition, I 
invited the girl to sit down fora little while amongst us ; 
and requested Hanno, who was acquainted with the Ionian 
dialect, to ask the lady to do the same. With a graceful 
obeisance, she took her seat on a cushion that was placed 
for her. 

The evening meal proceeded pleasantly enough. Abi- 
gail and Chamai entertained us with the story of their 
attachment, relating how in the days of their early childhood 
they had tended goats together in their native pastures. 
I could not refrain from expressing my sorrow that they had 
met to be parted again so soon. 

“But perhaps,” said Abigail, “Pharaoh will not want ta 


52 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





keep me; of such as I am, King Pharaoh must have 
thousands. My mistress here is sent for him; but me, 
surely, he will send back again.” 

Chamai clenched his strong fists, and gave an appealing 
look at me; but I could give him no further consolation 
than by remarking that it was very probable the company 
of the waiting-woman was only required for the lady during 
the voyage. 

“Apart from that,’ said Hannibal, “she would be 
lonely and desolate enough. Little is the trouble that the 
eunuch Hazael puts himself to for the sake of entertaining 
er, 

Meanwhile, Hanno and the Ionian lady had entered into 
a conversation so close, and apparently so confidential, that 
it gave mea feeling of uneasiness ; and in order to interrupt 
it, I took the opportunity, while the wine-cups were being 
replenished, of asking Hanno whether, as he had a reputa- 
tion for playing the psaltery, he could not persuade the 
lady to allow him to accompany her while she sung one of 
the songs of her country. She had some slight acquaint- 
ance with Phcenician, and answered for herself that she 
should have much pleasure in singing as I wished. 

Hanno fetched his psaltery, and as soon as it was tuned, 
the captive damsel turned back her veil and revealed a 
countcnance of peculiar beauty. She was dressed as a 
Pheenician, in a purple robe embroidered with silver, 
and wore a necklace composed of three rows of gold 
beads and gold ornaments of elaborate design. Her head 
was bare, and her hair was arranged in the fashion of her 
own country, turned back from the forehead and secured in 
the middle. We sat in silence, as though riveted by a 
spectacle of surpassing beauty. 

As soon as my slave had attached the earthenware lamps 
to the supports that were ready for them in the ship’s side, 
the Ionian, in a rich harmonious voice, commenced one 
of the songs of her native land. I cannot profess to be 
familiar with the Ionic tongue, but in the course of my 


” rie 


Ae 
Ass 


ee 
ARAN 
\ \\ 


\ 
: 








THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 53 





wanderings I had gained sufficient acquaintance with it to 
be aware that the verses which she sung were in celebration 
of the wars made long, long ago by her countrymen, the 
Achezans, against Priam and the city of Troy. Ever and 
again, as her voice rose in thrilling sweetness, Chamai's 
eyes could be noticed flashing with emotion, and Hannibal's 
fingers seemed to be feeling for the hilt of his sword ; and 
even those who could not comprehend the meaning of the 
words were all enraptured by the melody of the song and 
the bewitching loveliness of the singer. When she had 
finished, she rose and retired with a step stately as that 
with which Ashtoreth might move along the floods. 

Immediately after she had gone, Hanno moved to the 
ship’s side, where he stood for a considerable time gazing 
moodily into the water. I missed his merry voice from 
our party, and going up to him asked him what was the 
matter. 

“Nothing but what will soon pass away,” he replied. 

“Take my advice,” I said, “and let nothing be told 
Bodmilcar about what has transpired this evening. I 
neither trust him nor the eunuch.” 

“Let Bodmilcar do as he pleases,” replied Hanno, 
quickly. “For my part, I shall abide by the promise I 
have made. What I want now is to get to Tarshish, and 
to find adventures to divert me. I think I shall be a good 
sailor yet, captain ;” and his tone brightened as he spoke. 
I shook him heartily by the hand. Somehow or other I 
felt mysélf every day to be drawn closer to the youth. 

When I rejoined the others I found Chamai on the point 
of returning to shore. 

“ Good-night, Chamai,” said I; “we meet again in the 
morning.” 

“ Good-night, captain; good-night all:” and as soon as 
he was in the boat he shouted, “ Good-night, Abigail, my 
charming dove |” 

“Good-night, my pretty lamb!” responded Abigail, 
saucily, as she looked forth from the interior of her cabin. 


54 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 


At this very moment the eunuch arrived. “ The fellow 
has good lungs,” he sneered, as he passed ; “ but I question 
whether King Pharaoh would be best pleased to know that 
his slaves had been displayed to all the world.” 

“No, nor if he should learn that they have been enter- 
tained by aship’s captain and his scribe,” put in Bodmilcar, 
contemptuously kicking aside Hanno’s psaltery, which had 
been accidentally left upon the cushion that had been 
occupied by the Ionian, 





i 


1 ay 
WINN 


PIPE 
OQ 


CAL hi pi—| 


A }iket 


Gy daa 
“FF 


ZZ) 
ae 





“Your proceedings displease me,” I began, in a tone of 
reproof; but Bodmilcar interrupted me by saying sharply: 
“Hazael has the King’s authority for placing the slaves 
wherever he thinks best.” 

This was too exasperating. It was intolerable that a 
Syrian eunuch, himself a mere slave, should presume to set 
up his authority over me, a free man and a captain of a 
Sidonian fleet, and I stared steadily at Bodmilcar, as if he 
could hardly be aware of what he said; but he only 
returned my gaze with a look of defiance. 

He proceeded in a haughty tone: “ This Ionian damsel 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 55 


—_——- ~ — 





was once mine, but she was stolen from me by men 
who sold her to the King. The King sends her to 
King Pharaoh as a present, and I shall do my duty to 
the King by preventing his present from falling into the 
hands of your scribe.” 

I answered firmly: “In all these matters I alone am 
judge. On these vessels my authority in all things is 
supreme, and woe to any one who questions it.” 

“Well spoken!” cried Hannibal, “Discipline and 
obedience for ever!” 





“T shall do ¢hzs, then,” he began, with a voice half- 
choked with rage; but I took him up coolly and decisively : 
“You will do what I order; you will go back to your 
ship and look after your sailors. I shall be away five 
days.” 

He retreated slowly towards the boat, muttering threats 
and oaths as he went, but to these I did not pay the 
slightest heed. 

When he was gone, Hazael said: “And now I shall go 
and chastise that girl.” 


56 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





I laid my hand upon his shoulder to deter him ; but he 
shook himself free, and was about to open the cabin-door, 
when the powerful grasp of Hannibal was upon him, so 
that he was twisted completely round. 

“ How ?—how now ?” he stammered out, looking first at 
me and then at Hannibal, who still retained a firm hold 
upon him. I folded my arms and looked steadily at him. 

“Listen!” I said; “listen to me. The rule of a 
Phoenician ship is this : whoever defies the captain’s orders 
is tied to a rope from the yard-arm and dipped three 
times in the water. Do you understand me?” 

Quivering with fear, the eunuch only bowed his head in 
assent. 

“Remember it then,” I added; “and remember, too, 
another rule: when any one curses another he is fastened 
tight to that mast and flogged; five-and-twenty lashes. 
Do you understand ?” 

He bent his head again. 

“And don’t forget,’ I said, “that Abigail has a busy 
tongue, and that I have sharp ears. Now, Hannibal, let 
him go.” 

Hazael made his way to his cabin without a word. Han- 
nibal could not suppress his glee. He exclaimed: “Bravo! 
captain ! all right ! no good doing things by halves ; mutiny 
in a ship is as bad as rebellion in a camp.” 

Early next morning I sent for Bodmilcar. 

“Bodmilcar,” said I, “you are an old Phoenician mariner 
and ought to be trusted, but I am afraid the influence of 
that eunuch has turned your head. He will not be long 
with us; and when he takes his women ashore, I hope 
you will be yourself again: but meanwhile you must give 
me your word that you will not be promoting further 
discord.” 

He attempted to deny that he had in any way fostered 
discord, but I was not to be put off; I insisted upon the 
promise being distinctly given, and when he had yielded 
and made me the promise I required, I said to him ; 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 57 





“Now, attend to my instructions, You will remain here 
in command of the vessels, while I am gone to Jerusalem. 
Hanno and Hannibal will accompany me, but Hasdrubal, 
Hamilcar and Himilco will remain with you, and you will 
be under the protection of the soldiers. We will make it 
our business to get provisions in the interior of the country, 
so that you will have nothing to concern yourself about in 
the way of purchases.” 

“ And what becomes of the two women ?” he inquired. 

“That is my affair,” I answered; “I shall see that they 
are provided for on shore. But we are off at once ; so look 
to your duty. Farewell!” 

I directed Hanno and Hannibal to get into the boat, 
and ordered my slave, with two sailors carrying the baggage, 
to accompany them. As Hanno passed Bodmilcar, I 
noticed that the latter scowled and spat upon the ground. 
Hanno merely shrugged his shoulders. 

Before I took my own place in the boat, I saw the 
women and the eunuch safely on board the other boat, and 
told two sailors to go with them, and take on shore all that 
they might require. Hazael tried to invent some pretext 
for remaining behind; he would look after the baggage, 
he said, but on hearing me cry out, “ No, no,” he embarked 
without further remonstrance. 

Everything being ready, I gave the word for starting, 
and the two boats moved off. Bodmilcar stood upon the 
poop watching us gloomily, whilst Himilco, who was by his 
side, bade us good-bye with a friendly cheer. 

A very few strokes of the oar brought us to land ; Chamai 
had been impatiently awaiting our arrival, and hastened to 
assist Abigail from the boat. We made our way straight 
to the village, which lies in a grove of wild fig-trees, about 
two bowshots from the fortress, and is provided with a good 
cistern. In front of the house that seemed by far the most 
important in the place, there were tied two horses and about 
a dozen asses. The horses were well caparisoned with 
embroidered bridles, and had their heads decked out with 


58 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





scarlet network, trimmed with little bells and parti-coloured 
rosettes, their tails being tied up with scarlet bands. The 
asses’ manes and tails, according to a general custom, were 
dyed with henna, and these animals, like the horses, were 
all well harnessed. 

“This,” said Chamai, “is the house of Bichri; he is one 
of the men that I propose getting to join you on your 
voyage. He is young and strong, and skilful in the use 
alike of his bow, his sword, and his shield. Hehas beena 
vine-dresser on the mountains, and has learnt the art of 
making wine.” 

Bichri himself at this moment came forward to give us 
his greeting ; he was accompanied by another man with a 
young woman. 

“This is Barzillai, one of my captains of ten,” said 
Chamai, introducing him to me; “and this is his wife, 
Milcah ; she is the sister of our friend Bichri here, and is 
famous for the honey-cakes she makes.” 

Hannibal suggested that Barzillai and his wife should 
join us on our expedition, but Chamai explained that 
nothing would induce them to go to sea. 

I next proceeded to make arrangements for lodging the 
two women during my absence. I found that they could 
either be accommodated in the tower, or that they could be 
received into Bichri’s house, where they would be near 
enough to Barzillai to have the companionship of his wife, 
and the protection of his men-at-arms. At first Chamai 
was disposed to murmur when he learnt that Abigail was 
not to accompany us to Jerusalem ; but when he understood 
that it was my wish that she and her mistress should remain 
together where they were, he acquiesced without another 
word of disapprobation. To Barzillai I give the strictest 
injunctions to allow no one, except the eunuch, to see the 
Ionian lady on any pretence whatever, and he struck his 
hand upon the hilt of his sword as a guarantee that he 
would be faithful to his trust. 

“ And where am I to lodge?” asked the eunuch. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 59 





“Wherever you may choose,” I answered; “in Bichri’s 
house, if you like.” 

“In my house!” cried Bichri; “a Syrian of Zobah in my 
house! No, no, captain, by your leave, I’d rather not. It 
cannot be.” 

“Why not?” yelped out the eunuch; “are we Syrians 
not as good as you?” 

“No; Syrians are slaves: our King conquered you at 
Zobah and Damascus both ; you are fleas, dead dogs !” 

“True,” chimed in Chamai; “the Philistines of Gaza 
and Askelon are foes worth conquering, but as to Syrians, I 
could spit a dozen of them on my lance and carry them 
across my shoulder.” 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Hannibal; “Chamai dearly loves a 
joke ; he will make good sport for us along our way.” 

To Barzillai’s inquiries whether the women were ever to 
be allowed to go out, I replied that Abigail, since she 
belonged to the country, might occasionally take a walk in 
company with Milcah, but that the Ionian must not be 
allowed to leave the house until my return. They engaged 
to make the lady’s time pass agreeably, and Milcah under- 
took to initiate her into the art of making cakes and other 
delicacies. 

Having thus satisfactorily made our preliminary arrange- 
ments, we entered the house to partake of some refreshment 
before our departure. 

In order to ensure that the guard should be sufficiently 
strong, Barzillai had offered to find quarters in the village 
for fifteen of our men in addition to his own. Hannibal 
accordingly sent to the ships for fifteen archers to come on 
shore, and I took the opportunity of sending by the same 
messenger to Hamilcar and those who were with him, to 
inform them what I had done by way of putting an effectual 
check upon any scheme that Bodmilcar and the eunuch 
might concert between them. 

The eunuch had declined joining our meal, and had 
returned sulkily to the ships. Milcah conducted the Ionian 


60 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO,. 





to her apartment, but soon reappeared, bringing a supply 
of her renowned honey-cakes, three for every guest. So 
engrossed, however, were Abigail and Chamai with each 
other’s society, that they forgot all about taking their own 
shares, which Hannibal was nothing loath to eat for them. 

Bichri went out first to see that the horses and asses 
were in readiness, and we followed him as soon as we had 
taken our leave of Barzillai and Milcah. The parting 
between the young lovers, it need scarcely be said, was 
somewhat protracted. Thoroughbred Sidonian as I was, 
more accustomed to the rolling of a ship than the cur- 
vetings of a steed, I declined mounting the high-spirited 
horse which the Jew offered me, feeling that I should be 
more at my ease upon a pacific steady-going ass. By my 
directions Hanno had made a present to our host of a 
piece of scarlet cloth; to his wife I had given a pair ot 
silver earrings, with which she was extremely delighted ; 
and we had distributed a number of earthenware dolls and 
toys to the children who crawled about or clambered on 
our knees. Chamai (who had donned his new cuirass and 
bestowed his old one upon Barzillai), detained us by running 
back a dozen times upon some frivolous pretext, which ill 
disguised his real design of saying good-bye once more to 
his sweetheart, but at last made up his mind to mount the 
horse which Hanno, as well as myself, had refused to ride. 
Hannibal had already mounted the other horse, and was 
exhibiting his skill as an equestrian, by cantering about us. 
Of the asses, four were laden with our baggage; Hanno, 
the two sailors, and my own slave, got upon the others; 
and Bichri, with his strong mountaineer’s stride, marched 
on afead of the caravan to pioneer the way. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 61 





CHAPTER IV. 
KING DAVID. 


AFTER crossing the fertile corn-fields of the low-lying 
plains, thickly studded with groves of figs and dates, and 
with clumps of the stunted trees which abound in Judza, 
expanding their parasol-like foliage, we began to ascend 
the mountain by narrow pathways, bordered by forests 
of terebinths, alternating with vineyards and plantations of 
olives. This route, delightful in its shade, brought us to 
the little town of Timnah, on the ridge of the hill, where 
Chamai introduced us to a man who found us lodging, and 
provided shelter for our beasts. Timnah is not only small, 
but it is most irregularly built; it is encircled by an em- 
battled wall, with two gateways and twelve circular towers ; 
the houses are only of one storey, being detached, and 
gencrally surrounded by gardens. 

We were tormented by myriads of fleas, which appeared 
to be especially remarkable for avidity. There were also 
countless swarms of flies ; and Hannibal, who had taken off 
his cuirass in order that he might more effectually scratch 
himself, remarked, with some show of reason, that he thought 
the inhabitants of Judea ought to implore Beelzebub, as 
the god of flies, to relieve them of this plague of vermin. 

On the following morning, after traversing several ravines, 
and crossing several ridges of the hilly but well-cultivated 
country, we came in sight of a deep valley, sterile and 
deserted. The rocks that formed alike its bottom and its 
sides were scattered over with human bones, that were 
bleaching in the air Towards the cast some eminences 


62 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





could be discerned, surmounted by a fort, whilst the valley 
again sloped upwards towards the ridges that bounded it on 
the south. 

“This is the Valley of Giants,” said Bichri, as he turned 
over a skull with the end of a staff he carried. 

“Well enough I know it,” broke in Chamai. “When 
I was young I was Benaiah’s armour-bearer. Benaiah 
was one of King David's mighty men, a captain of a 
hundred ; one snowy day he killed a lion in a pit; and 
once in single fight he slew an Egyptian giant ; and here 
in this very vale of Rephaim, when I was serving under 
him, we routed the Philistines so utterly, that the men of 
Ashdod have been tributary to us ever since.” 

“And I, too, can recall it well,” said Hannibal. “The 
Philistines were up there to the right, designing to storm 
the fortress in our front; half-way down the valley the 
King encountered them and drove them to their heights 
again. The heat of the battle was in the valley, but the 
greatest carnage was on the flight up yonder ridge.” 

As we proceeded, Hannibal pointed out to us on the 
further side of the valley the thirty stakes to which the 
King had had the chiefs of the Philistines bound after 
the battle ; fragments of the skeletons were still attached 
to them. 

“Ours is a good King,” exclaimed Chamai; “ Absalom, 
his son, rebelled against him, but I stood fast by David.” 

“And I, too,” said Bichri; “and a battle followed in 
which I killed Othniel, the son of Ziba: I sent a javelin 
clean through his temples ; this girdle of purple linen, which 
I am wearing now, was his.” 

All along, as we proceeded, Chamai, Hannibal and Bichri 
continued in this way to point out the sites, and to recall 
the history of places and events to which any interest 
attached. Whenever we passed a village or a town, the 
inhabitants, recognising us as Pheenicians, came flocking 
towards us with offerings of milk, dried grapes, figs, wine, or 
other refreshment, but were always eager in their inquiries 


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SHORTLY BEFORE SUNSET WE REACHED JERUSALEM. 


To face page 63 


THF ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 63 








whether we had any commodities of our own to sell. Bichri 
invariably told them that if they wished to inspect our 
merchandise, they must either come to Jerusalem, whither 
we were going, or go down to Joppa, where we had left our 
ships. Occasionally the goat-herds, who were in charge of 
fine flocks upon the hill-sides, accosted us, but we bought 
nothing of them except a couple of the excellent cheeses 
of the country, for which we paid only a few zeraas. As 
we were eating the cheeses under the shade of a terebinth, 
some girls brought us cool water from a neighbouring 
spring, and in acknowledgment of their attention, Hanno 
gave them a number of glass beads, with which they 
seemed highly delighted. 

Shortly before sunset, on the evening of the second day 
we reached Jerusalem, a city very strongly built upon a 
steep and elevated plateau. The distant view of the city is 
extremely striking ; the soil on which it is built is undulat- 
ing and irregular, so as to produce an effect of the whole 
place being literally studded with domes and terraces ; the 
whiteness of the walls, and the numerous roofs that are 
imbedded in the foliage of the olive-yards that skirt the 
walls, all combine to make up a picture that cannot fail 
most favourably to impress the traveller with its beauty. 

After crossing a road that was bounded on one side by 
the torrent of Kedron, and which was lost to view as it 
deflected towards the deserts, we had surmounted the last 
of the olive-covered hills, and passed the last of the 
ravines, and soon began ascending a paved street, wide 
enough to admit three horsemen abreast, of which the 
houses were of brick, their gardens being enclosed by low 
clay walls. Night was coming on, and Chamai, who had 
galloped on ahead (leaving us to the guidance of Bichri), 
Was now awaiting us at the gate of a large garden attached 
to a handsome brick house of two storeys. This house was 
the residence of Ira, one of the King’s officers, to whom 
the duty was specially entrusted of providing for the 
entertainments of foreign ambassadors. Immediately on 


64 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





our arrival, some slaves came to take charge of our beasts, 
and to carry our baggage into the dwelling, where we were 
first conducted into a long low room, and water was 
brought us for our feet. It was not long before Ira himself 
appeared to bid us welcome, and to offer us refreshment. 
I informed him of my name and errand, and showed him 
the letter I bore from King Hiram to King David. He 
raised it to his head in token of his respect, and promised 
to give his sovereign an immediate notice of my arrival. 

When we had completed our repast, I began to prepare 
my presents for King David. First of all I chose a hyacinth- 
coloured under tunic, made of the finest Egyptian linen, 
and a purple upper tunic embroidered round the neck and 
sleeves with flowers, and bordered with silver fringe; to 
these I added a girdle wrought in gold and silver, with a 
lion’s head in gold for a clasp, the eyes being of bright 
enamel. This girdle was a most elaborate specimen of 
Egyptian workmanship, being one of four that I had pur- 
chased of a native artist, intending them for presents to 
any monarchs to whose presence I might be admitted in 
the course of my progress. Another gift that I selected 
was a drinking-cup of silver with two handles; it was raised 
upon a stem, and embossed with ornaments, worked in gold, 
representing fruit and flowers. The whole of these I 
deposited in a box of the sandal-wood of Ophir, curiously 
inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl. Remembering that 
the King was not only fond of music, but was himself a skilful 
performer, I further looked out for him a three-stringed 
harp of sandal-wood, ornamented with coloured tufts, and 
surmounted by the figure in solid gold of a bird with open 
beak and outstretched wings. This instrument could not 
be matched out of Phoenicia, and the wood of which it was 
made, like that of the box, had been brought from Ophir. 
I had procured the harp from Khelesh-baal, a Sidonian, 
to whom it had been given by the Queen of Ophir as an 
acknowledgment of his having designed some ships for her 
which could brave the open sea, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 65 


Early next morning when. Ira came to inform me that he 
had announced my arrival to the King, he expressed _ his 
astonishment at the presents which I showed him I was 
about to make ; he told me that they would be most accept- 
able to the King, who was very desirous of seeing me. 

About two hours afterwards some of the royal slaves 
arrived, bringing a calf, some bread, several cheeses, a 
basket of cakes and figs, a large jar of olives, and a still 
larger jar of the good wine of Helbon; one of them, 
saluting me as an ambassador from King Hiram, said: 

“Tam instructed by King David to conduct you and 
your companions to the palace : come at once.” 

I gave the box containing the presents to my two sailors 
to carry, and collected my people together. Hannibal 
donned his helmet and cuirass, Hanno put his official ink- 
horn in his girdle, and we lost no time in setting off. 
Chamai and Bichri both accompanied us: they were in 
hizh glee, the latter especially, as, although he was one of 
David’s subjects, he had never hitherto seen his King. On 
our way he remarked: 

“David wronged our tribe of Benjamin; but he made 
amends by his kindness to Saul’s kindred. He is truly 
the glory of the tribes: I shall be rejoiced to see him ; I 
have never seen him yet.” 

“ And after all,” said Chamai, “he did not wantto be hard 
upon the tribe of Benjamin; it went against his heart. 
Think, too, of his love for Jonathan, and of his marrying 
Michal ; and Jonathan and Michal were both Saul’s children. 
And how he avenged the death of Saul himself! He has 
no ill-will against you children of Benjamin.” 

“He isavaliant King,” said Hannibal ; “and valiant, too, 
is his general, his sister Zeruiah’s son. He and Joab, both 
are warriors worthy of their renown,” 

While this conversation had been going on, we had been 
making our way through a succession of steep, narrow streets, 
with houses, one or two storeys high, and gardens on either 
hand. Seeing that we were ushered along by the royal 

F 





66 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





servants, easily recognised as these were by the purple 
borders of their white garments, all the people saluted us 
respectfully as we passed, an evidence of the high esteem in 
which the King is held by his subjects. 

We crossed a quarter of the city known by the name of 
Millo, and came to a canal which runs out in the direction 
of the open country, and which is overhung by an eminence 
called Sion, the entire space between Sion and Millo being 
occupied by houses recently erected at the King’s own cost. 
In the surrounding wall there still remained the breach 
which had been opened by David, when he took the city 
from the Jebusites. On the summit of Sion stands a 
fortress, in the interior court of which the royal palace has 
been built. Designed by Tyrian architects, this is three 
storeys high, with a central dome, and is surrounded by 
magnificent gardens, the edifice for the most part being 
constructed of hewn stone and sandal-wood. On either 
side of the gateway are two stately pillars of bronze, and 
against the wall, to the right of one of these pillars, is 
placed the seat where the King sits to administer justice ; 
the gallows for the execution of capital sentences being 
close at hand. In the rear are other gardens, and the 
buildings set apart for the women of the household. 

Ira was at the palace-gate to meet us, and conducted us by 
a\ inding staircase into a square apartment, well lighted, and 
hung with tapestries figured with birds and flowers. At one 
end was a raised sandal-wood dais, three steps above the 
level of the floor; upon this stood the throne, which was 
likewise of sandal-wood, but perfectly plain and unadorned 
either with carving or gilding, a lion’s skin stretched out at 
its foot. On the right hand stood Joab, the King’s general, 
in helmet and cuirass; at a little distance behind was the 
royal armour-bearer holding the King’s sword, while his 
lance rested against the wall; several officers were stationed 
upon the steps ; and in front four of the King’s body-guard 
of mighty men, with their swords drawn. 

Seated upon the throne was the monarch himself, a man 


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WAITING FOR THE KING TO SPEAK. 


To face page 67. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 67 


of moderate stature and slight build, advanced in years, 
but nevertheless retaining unimpaired every symptom 
of agility and vigour. His straight, uncurled beard was 
perfectly white, but his hair was dressed in the ordinary 
fashion of his countrymen. His costume was very simple; 
neither frontlet nor coronet adorned his brow; no bracelets 
encircled his wrists ; no rings were upon his toes ; he wore a 
plain white tunic with a purple border, and instead of the 
high-heeled shoes usually worn by kings, he had on his 
feet a pair of mountaineer’s sandals. There was nothing 
in his attire to distinguish him from ordinary men; only by 
the penetrating glance of his clear blue eye could he be 
marked out as one that was born to reign. 

My people having ranged themselves in a line behind 
me, I stepped forward and prostrated myself at the foot of 
the dais; then rising, I stood with folded hands, waiting 
for the King to speak. He began by bidding me welcome, 
and proceeded to ask whether our voyage hither had been 
prosperous, and made numerous inquiries after the welfare 
of the kings of Tyre and Sidon and their subjects. 
Expressing his satisfaction at the tenor of my answers, 
he called for King Hiram’s letters to himself. I handed 
the sealed papyrus to one of the officers, who presented it 
open to the King. The King perused it deliberately, and 
turning to me with a kindly smile, said: 

“Mago, son of Maherbaal, I rejoice to see you. Who 
are these that you bring with you ?” 

One by one, I introduced my companions. 

The King expressed his approval at seeing Chamai and 
Bichri amongst my followers, and said : 

“T like my younger people to travel; it gives them 
courage, as well as wisdom and experience. Iam glad, too, 
that your soldiers are under the command of Hannibal ; 
he is an able leader ; I remember him well. And now,” he 
continued, “ Jehoshaphat the recorder shall prepare you a 
catalogue of the materials which I require you to procure 
and I leave it to your own discretion to purchase, in addi- 





68 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO.° 


—_—— 





tion, whatever else you may meet with that is curious of 
rare. It remains for me to inquire what are the supplies 
you need before you start.” 

I explained that I was anxious that forty experienced 
men should be added as recruits to Chamai’s force, and 
that a sufficient store of corn and wine and oil, and other 
things that would not be the worse for keeping, might be 
provided to maintain us on our voyage. 

“Just and fair are your demands,” replied the King. 
“Joab shall choose you out forty men, whom Chamai and 
Hannibal may command, and my treasurer shall hand you 
over the money needed for their pay. Ira shall take you 
to the storehouses, and you shall be at liberty to select 
what stores you please; he will provide you also with asses 
to convey them to the ships. You have only to say what 
you require, and it is yours.” 

Again I prostrated myself before the King in token of 
my gratitude, and requested him graciously to accept the 
presents that I had been commissioned to deliver. He 
seemed highly gratified, and inquired with the liveliest 
interest about the history of each gift, as it was shown him ; 
he then rose, and bade us follow him into an adjoining 
room, where wine was prepared for us. He insisted upon 
drinking from the cup which I had just given him, and 
when he had taken his seat again upon his throne, which 
had been brought in after him, he honoured me still further 
by asking me about the various countries I had visited. 
His curiosity seemed wakened by my replies, and amongst 
other things, he asked me whether peacocks and asses were 
not found in the West. I informed him that they came 
from Ophir, whither, subject to his permission, I contem- 
plated making a voyage upon my return. 

“You are a dauntless man,” he said, “to talk about a 
second voyage before you have accomplished a first. I 
admire your courage, and confess that Hiram has done well 
in choosing you for this undertaking. J want now to show 
you the site of the temple that it is in my heart to rear,” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 69 





With a tread elastic as a young man’s, the King con- 
ducted us from the palace to an adjacent hill upon which 
was a threshing-floor. The name of the hill was Moriah. 

“T have just bought this threshing-floor and some oxen, 
for fifty shekels of silver, of Araunah the Jebusite,” he said ; 
adding, “to my mind, the spot is adapted equally for a 
temple or for a fortress.” 

Hanno remarked, “I have heard it said that the King 
has taken more fortresses than he has built, and that his 
sword is the best stronghold of his people.” 

“You are a flatterer, scribe,” said the King, smiling; 
“ nevertheless, I believe that bold hearts do more to defend 
their country than any masses of piled-up stone.” 

“Then I am no flatterer,” rejoined the scribe; “I do 
but echo the King’s own sentiments. Happy the people 
whose pride and confidence are in their King!” 

“If you use such silvery speech to women,” replied the 
King, “ you must ultimately marry a princess.” 

Hanno coloured: the King laughed, and turning to me 
said that I had an excellent scribe. 

“Ah, my lord and King,” said Hanno, “ we are going 
where eloquence can avail us nothing. The winds and 
waves of the Great Sea will not listen to the smooth speech 
of Canaan. The barbarians of the West will demand a 
language of a rougher, sterner sort. Compliments will not 
move the men of Tarshish.” 

The King was evidently much pleased with Hanno, and 
told him that he should be gratified if he would bring him 
back a written description of whatever he might sce in 
the course of his voyage; he further inquired whether he 
had any of his own compositions with him Upon this, 
Hanno handed him a little scroll inscribed with some verses 
he had written in praise ofa lady. After the King, himself 
a poet of the highest order, had admired the flow of the 
lines, and commended the beauty of the handwriting, he 
presented Hanno with a copy of some of his own poetry. 

“There is another poetry,” said Hanno, “of a severet 


70 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





style, which the King has written in the valley of Rephaim, 
and on many another battle-field: I fear he cannot give 
us that.” 

In an instant David took the sword from his armour- 
bearer’s hand. “ Here,” he said, “is the pen that wrote it. 
Take it ; it may give you the power to write verses of the 
character that, in the valley of the giants, I have made to 
the honour of my God.” 

“ The King’s word is a prophecy,” said Hanno, kissing 
the blade ; “be it my care that it comes to pass!” 

We had now to take our leave of the kind and courteous 
King, and I went with Ira direct to the storehouses, whilst 
Hannibal, Chamai, and Bichri followed Joab. 

The chief storehouse is a long brick building approached 
by a paved pathway lined with sycamines; it is built in 
the Phoenician style over a water-tank, and is flanked 
by the stables for the royal chariots and the meadows for 
the horses and other cattle. Hanno had prepared a list, 
of which a duplicate copy was written for the King: the 
items were a hundred measures of grain, fifty measures of 
oil, fifty measures of wine, egaal quantities of cheese, figs, 
and dried grapes, and two thousand shekels of dry salt 
meat: to these were added salt, beans, lentils, and dates, 
Ira undertaking that asses, with drivers, should be ready 
to convey them all to the ships on the following morning. 

King David is renowned for generosity ; and on our return 
to Ira’s house we found that several of the royal servants 
had arrived before us, bringing various presents for us all 
For myself there was a shield, a lance, a dagger, and an 
Fgyptian battle-axe ; for Hannibal, a sword and a mace 
of Chaldean manufacture; for Bichri, a bow and quiver 
and an archer’s belt; while for Hanno there was another 
sword, in addition to the one he had already received. 

Towards evening Hannibal returned, bringing word that 
te had completed his number of men; Jehoshaphat also 
came to bring me the King’s final letters of instruction. 

On rising the next morning I found the street outside 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 71 





the house crowded with asses and their drivers, the beasts 
being laden with the heavy packs containing our supplies ; 
we had therefore nothing further to do than to take leave 
of our host. I gave him two phials of royal perfume for 
his wives, and without further delay we took our departure 
for Joppa. 

Our return journey was unmarked by any special inci- 
dent. From time to time Bichri gave us proof of his 
dexterity by using his new bow to shoot partridges and 
other birds while they were on the wing, and Hanno (with 
his sword passed through his girdle in Jewish fashion) was 
as gay as ever, beguiling the time with cheerful songs. 

“ Every one owns King David as a prophet,” he repeated 
more than once; “and as I have David’s sword, I should 
think I might conquer the world.” 

“T hope you do not intend to kill King Pharaoh,” said 
I, rather startled at his martial enthusiasm. 

“ Pshaw!” he replied; “my mistress is Ashtoreth, queen 
of sea and sky! She can laugh to scorn Pharaoh and 
Bodmilcar, both alike!” 

Bichri interrupted us by bringing a partridge he had just 
brought down. “Can you tell me, captain,” he asked, 
“whether there are any vines in Tarshish ?” 

“To the great regret of our Pheenician colonists,” I 
answered, “there are no vines at all.” 

“It may be a good thing then,” he rejoined, “that I 
have brought some cuttings with me. The climate is 
warm, even as our own, and who can tell whether ere long 
they shall not be producing wine as good as ours ?” 

‘An excellent venture of yours;.archer,” I; replied; “1 
wish your foresight all success.” 

The tower of Joppa and the masts of our vessels were 
hardly visble in the distance before we espied Abivail 
advancing towards us. Chamati alighted from his horse, 
and received her with a warm embrace. 

“What news ?” said I, hurrying forward. 

Learning that all was well, I left the young people 


72 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





together, and made my own way down immediately to the 
beach. The first person that I saw was Barzillai, who 
informed me that the eunuch had not been into the village 
since my departure, and that no one had attempted to hold 
any communication with the Ionian lady. Very shortly 
afterwards, Hamilcar and all the rest, including Bodmilcar, 
came to greet me on my return, and we proceeded at once 
to embark the supplies that we had brought. I put all the 
fresh recruits on board my own galley, thus making up my 
full complement of 210 men; namely, 50 rowers, 70 sailors, 
80 soldiers, and 10 officers, 

While the drivers were assisting my own people to 
unlade the asses, one of them, a man of gigantic size and 
stature, stalked up to me, swinging his arms, and stood 
looking at me with a fixed and steady gaze. His appear- 
ance was remarkable; his short bull-neck was imbedded, 
as it were, between his immense broad shoulders, and 
he had long shaggy hair that hung close over his brow 
and was met by a thick beard that grew almost up to 
his eyes. 

“Do you want me ?” J asked. 

In a stentorian voice he answered, “I am Jonah, of the 
village of Eltekeh, in the tribe of Dan.” 

“Well, what of that ?” I said. 

“IT want to go with you: I want to go where the wild 
beasts are.” 

“But what for; what can you do if you get there ?” 

“T want to go,” again he growled. 

“But you can do nothing; what is the use of taking 
you ?” 

“T want to go,” he still persisted. 

Puzzled in my mind, I asked him whether he could in 
any way make himself of use on board a ship. 

“Lam strong.’ she>ssaid’; "1 am: a “descendant: of. 
Samson; I can carry an ox upon my shoulders, and I 
can blow a trumpet ;” and as he spoke he struck himself 
heavily in the chest. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 73 





Hannibal, who all this while had been scanning the man 
with the eye of a connoisseur, observed : “I don’t think we 
shall find a cuirass big enough to fit the fellow; but he 
looks as if he mightn’t be a bad trumpeter;” and turning 
towards him, he said: “ Now look here, man; I have a 
good trumpeter already ; but if Captain Mago will allow 
it, I should like to have a trumpet-match, and see which of 
you can blow the best.” 

Of course I had no objection to allege, and Hannibal’s 
trumpeter was summoned to the spot. A huge clarion was 





fetched from the stores and handed to Jonah, and thus 
the rivals were brought face to face in the middle of a 
circle of curious listeners. 

“ Blow away, my men,” said Hannibal, “as hard as you 
like!” 

Both raised their instruments to their lips, and simul- 
taneously gave forth a series of strong, clear notes, which 
waxed louder and louder, as the performers, with necks 
outstretched and inflated cheeks, seemed to grow warm ta 
the work. After a considerable time, during which neither 


74, THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





appeared to have much superior power, the eyes of 
Hannibal’s trumpeter began to start painfully from their 
sockets, and he showed symptoms of evident fatigue ; whilst 
Jonah, although the veins of his neck were swollen as large 
as one’s finger, continued to give forth notes that almost 
split our ears, and which seemed still louder in contrast 
to the enfeebled strain of his competitor. At last, when 
full fifteen minutes had elapsed, Hannibal’s herald gave 
one prolonged and plaintive note, and sunk down upon 
a stone, breathless and exhausted. Jonah, without exhi- 
biting any sign of distress, stood with his hand upon his 
hip, and raising his trumpet high into the air, gave vent 
to a loud triumphal flourish. 

“ Enough, enough!” we shouted one and all. 

“Bring out the very largest scarlet tunic that we have 
on board,” said Hannibal; “the fellow has gained his 
day.” : 

“ Then may I go?” asked Jonah. 

Hannibal made him understand that I had given my 
consent, and told him to put onthe tunic. While he was 
endeavouring to fasten the garment, which seemed ready 
to burst out at every seam, Himilco walked round him, and 
surveyed him with a puzzled air. 

“ T should like to see inside the rascal,” he said ; “I have 
never heard such lungs.” 

“Tam thirsty,” roared the giant. 

A great cup of wine was handed to him; he drained it 
at a gulp. 

“Do you call that a draught?” he asked. “I should 
give as much to my little children ; can’t you let me drink 
from a pitcher or a cask ?” 

Himilco refilled the cup, and handed it back to Jonah. 
With an air of wonder, that almost amounted to terror, he 
muttered to himself, “An extraordinary fellow, but it will 
cost us something to keep him!” 

When we had embarked all our goods, we took leave of 
Barzillai and his wife. Vhe Ionian bade a most affectionate 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 75 





farewell to Milcah, who had treated her with the greatest 
kindness and hospitality. Abigail was the last to leave 
the shore, and when she did so, it was with a look, long 
and lingering, towards her native mountains. 

By the following evening we had rounded the point of 
Pelusium, easily distinguished from the surrounding lowland 
by its rising grove of palms. The sea was rough, and to 
many on board the consequent sickness was very trying. 
Towards noon next day we came in sight of the troubled 
waters caused by the outflow of the Nile. 


gé THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 


- —~ 





CHAPTER V. 
PHARAOH ARRIVES TOO LATE, 


WE shortly hove in sight of what is known as the Tanitic 
mouth of the Nile, beyond which, in the distance, could be 
discerned the tall obelisks of the City of Tanis. The de- 
posit brought down by the river itself, combined with the 
action of the wind and surf upon the two headlands of 
the bay, has a perpetual tendency to block up this outlet 
of the Nile; and when the Cadiros, which had been sent 
on ahead to explore the bar, returned with the intelligence 
that the water was too shallow to permit a safe passage 
to the Melkarth, 1 determined to push on a little further to 
the Mendezian mouth, which is considerably wider, and 
which leads, moreover, direct to Memphis. Night was 
coming on, so that I would not vcnture to stem the some- 
what rapid current of the river in the dark, but brought my 
ships to anchor within a bowshot of the shore. 

Hazael came to me and asked permission to pass the 
night with his friend Bodmilcar. I was equally surprised 
at his request, and at the submissive manner in which he 
made it ; but after ascertaining that the Ionian was in her 
cabin, and that Abigail was with Chamai on deck, I allowed 
him to go, 

Remembering that we had arrived at a land of strangers, 
with whom hitherto we had held no communication, | 
doubled the watch, and gave Hannibal special directions 
to keep a sharp look-out. The order in which our ships 
were arranged was this: on the right, furthest to the south, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 77 





_—_— 


was the Cadiros ; the Ashtoreth was moored to some piles 
about half a bowshot behind ; the We/karth and the Dagon 
were stationed on the opposite bank, where the water was 
deeper. One of the small barques was with me, the other 
with the Melkarth. 

Anchored higher up the river were several Egyptian 
vessels, and a considerable number was drawn up upon 
the shore. I wondered why there should be so many at a 
spot where there was no regular anchorage, but I sub- 
sequently learnt that Pharaoh was about to send forth a 
squadron for the purpose of putting down a revolt that had 
broken out at Pelusium. Two officers, accompanied by a 
troop of soldiers, some armed with battle-axes, and some 
with bows, had already boarded my ship to inquire who 
we were and what we wanted, and had retired satisfied 
with my explanation. As the shades of night deepened, 
we could observe the lights of two galleys cruising about in 
the open channel, and shortly afterwards another Egyptian 
came on board and ordered my own lights to be extin- 
guished, a direction which was instantly obeyed. 

The night was intensely warm, and the scorching east 
wind, laden with the sand of the desert, blew from time to 
time in dry and unrefreshing gusts. The sky was over- 
cast, and although the night was not black it was so dark 
that little could be distinguished except the gleam from 
the fires of a large camp pitched on the right bank, and the 
inconstant lights of the distant villages on either shore. 
Close in front of us were still burning the torches of the two 
galleys I have mentioned ; but besides these, there was only 
the occasional flicker from some little boat that moved 
upon the stream. 

Towards midnight, five or six hours after our anchoring, 
I resigned my watch to Himilco, intending to take some 
rest. On my way to my berth I cast my eye towards the 
right bank, and through the gloom I could see indis- 
tinctly that there was a crowd of vessels there; but 
everything was silent, and I went below. 





78 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 


I had not been asleep for more than a half-an-hour when 
I was roughly aroused by Himilco. 

“We are adrift !” he exclaimed. 

In an instant I was upon my feet, and rushed to examine 
our moorings. They were cut asunder. 

“All hands on deck! lights! light the lamps!” I cried 
with all my might; and at the same time I noticed lights 
appearing on the left, and heard a distant voice hailing the 
A shtoreth with the cry, “Our moorings have been cut, and 
we are all adrift.” I shouted in reply that they should 
come over to us; it was only too evident that another of 
our ships was in the same dilemma as ourselves. 

Meantime my crew had come on deck, and had lighted 
several signals. I ordered the rowers to their benches, and 
made them backwater gently so as to keep us steady until 
the other ship should join us. At the distance of about 
four bowshots behind, I made out the Cadzros hoisting her 
lights, and could hear the voices of the crew in great ex- 
citement. Almost immediately there was a splash of oars, 
and the Dagon came alongside of us. I shouted to 
Hasdrubal, who was standing on board: 

“Where's the MWelkarth?” 

Getting no satisfactory reply, I immediately ordered the 
three ships on to the left bank. The Dagon went straight 
across the river; I followed, taking an oblique course, and 
the Cadiros, hastening ahead, went a little way south, and 
then turned back due north, keeping as close as possible 
to the shore. 

During the time we were getting across, Hannibal had 
just put all his men under arms, as it occasioned us much 
surprise that while there was this commotion amongst our- 
selves the Egyptians had made no sign nor sound ; their 
lights were out, and their cruisers no longer to be seen. 
The Cadiros rejoined us, and reported that she had seen 
nothing ; nor even after we: had descended the river a 
couple of stadia was a single Egyptian vessel visible, and 
it was not until we were within hearing of the roar of the 








THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. _ TG 





waves at the river's mouth that we almost ran against sonie 
black mass that loomed through the darkness. 

“Back to your moorings, Phcenicians! no leaving the 
river at night !” shouted a voice, in Egyptian. 

“ We-dont want; 1--can: tell you,’ l- replied, “to: be 
running away like a set of thieves. We ‘iave been cut 
adrift, and one of our ships has disappeared.” 

“Then get fresh moorings,” was the answer: “you must 
wait till morning. By Pharaoh’s orders, you cannot leave 
to-night.” 

There was no help for it but to obey ; and sending some 
men on shore in the small boat with torches, we succeeded 
in finding an anchorage. But scarcely had we settled in 
our places, when our attention was arrested by a voice from 
the middle of the river gasping out in Phoenician, “ Help! 
help!” 

We put off a boat in the direction of the sound; the cry 
was repeated still closer to us, and in a few minutes the 
boat returned alongside, and one of my sailors, dripping 
with water, was hoisted on to the deck of the Ashéoreth. 
He was in a pitiable condition, his face all bleeding, and 
his head gashed open in several places. 

“ Treason, treason! we are betrayed by Bodmilcar !” was 
all he could utter, as he staggered and fell senseless on the 
deck. I ordered him to be laid upon a piece of carpet, 
whilst Abigail chafed his face with ointment, and Himilco 
put some wine to his lips. I had ascertained quite enough 
to put me on my guard, and consequently had our lights 
extinguished, permitting only one lamp and one torch to 
each ship: and I gave directions to the watch to keep a 
keen look-out. 

Meanwhile the poor fellow had recovered his conscious- 
ness, and Hanno, Hannibal, Himilco, Chamai, and myself, 
pressed round him to gather what he had to say. One 
of our sailors supported his. head to facilitate his power of 
speech, and Abigail and the Ionian knelt beside him, with 
the wine and ointment. 


80 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“TI went this evening,” began the man, “to visit a friend 
of mine on board the Melkarth. You know the crew are 
nearly all Tyrians. Bodmilcar has tampered with them 
all. He has had an interview with Pharaoh’s general, and 
told him that you are spies in league with the insurgents 
at Pelusium ; he said, too, that you had a slave on board 
your ship, whom he was bringing to Pharaoh, but who 
had escaped. His people urged me to join the conspiracy, 
and when I refused they all threatened to kill me I 





jumped overboard. An Egyptian boat pursued me. I 
was twice struck on the head by an oar. I dived beneath 
the water. I suppose they thought I had sunk; as they 
gave up the pursuit. Orders have been given to seize us 
all to-morrow. We are to be attacked in the morning, and 
carried off to Pharaoh. I can tell no more.” 

The exertion of telling all this had been too much for 
the brave fellow, and he fainted away again. My first 
impulse was to rush to my cabin forthe King’s letters, but 
to my amazement they had all disappeared; they had 
evidently been stolen during my absence at Jerusalem 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGC., 81 





We were overwhelmed with consternation. Hanno was the 
first to speak : 

“Allis plain enough,” he said ; “ Bodmilcar is the thief. 
Hazael, you know, has the King’s signet ring; and the 
rascals have opened the papers, altered their purport, and 
closed them again with the royal seal. Bodmilcar has 
carried them and presented them ; he represents himself as 
leader of the expedition, and denounces you as a traitor. 
He gets believed: and what is the result? why, sure as 
fate, we shall be made prisoners, and only too likely we 
shall be put to death. Abigail, of course, will be sent to 
Pharaoh.” 

“Not while I have a sword to defend her,” said Chamai, 
stamping with rage. 

“Yes,” continued Hanno, coolly; “no doubt Abigail 
will be handed over to Pharaoh, and the fair Chryseis 
will be awarded to Bodmilcar as a recompense for his 
Service: 

Hanno groaned aloud, and Hannibal furiously twirled 
his moustache. 

“T have no doubt, Hanno,” I said, “that all your con- 
jectures are right. But it’s rather soon to despair. Perhaps 
you haven’t been with us old mariners long enough to learn 
our seamen’s song about the Egyptians ?” 

I began to whistle an air, and Himilco, with a merry 
laugh, broke out with the gay refrain: 


<‘ The bull-head tribe, with all their skill, 
Must catch the man they fain would kill.” 


The effect was instantaneous. My whole party almost 
smothered me in their delight. Hanno threw himself at 
my knees and grasped one of my hands; Abigail seized the 
other, and covered it with kisses ; Hannibal caught hold of 
my cuirass on one side ; Chamai lugged at me on the other. 
Altogether, I was in a fair way of being strangled. The 
Ionian, who partially comprehended my meaning, could 

G 


82 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





only express her gratitude by the bright glance of her soft 
eyes. 

As soon as I had extricated myself from the embraces of 
the enthusiastic group, I pointed out to them a confused 
mass of Egyptian boats, now just visible in the dawn. 

“If there were only half-a-dozen of those fresh-water 
tortoise-shells,” said I, “our three ships could soon show 
them the way to the bottom of the Nile ; but there is such 
a lot of them! Besides, they have forces on land, and 
the river isn’t wide enough for us to get out of their reach. 
Bodmilcar, too, will lend them a helping hand, and he is an 
old stager; his ship, it is true, is not much in fighting trim, 
but it is manned with Tyrians. However, we mustn't give 
up! Patience! Trust yourselves to me!” 

“Yours we are to the death!” cried Hanno; while 
Hannibal, with his teeth set, growled out, that if any one 
disobeyed my orders it should be the worse for him. 
Chamai, almost beside himself with excitement, clasped 
Abigail in his arms, and vowed he would bring her the 
head and spoils of the first foe he should meet, even if it 
were Pharaoh himself. 

Hamilcar and Hasdrubal, with his pilot Gisgo, now came 
on board for my orders. 

“T never trusted that Tyrian,” said Hamilcar ; “ and Iam 
clad to have the chance of fighting it out with him ; and my 
men are as delighted as myself.” 

“Fla, ha! Himilco,” laughed Gisgo the earless, “we shall 
have some sport now.” 

“Yes, old Celt,” replied Himilco, “we will teach the 
rascals to swim.” 

I shook hands heartily with all three men, and they 
returned to their ships. It was now broad daylight, and 
casting my eye towards the river, I reconnoitred the 
enemy's position. Below-stream the Egyptian galleys 
were under way; opposite to us, on the left bank, were 
about forty small boats, each manned with four rowers 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 83 





and five soldiers, and a troop of nearly a hundred bowmen 
were assembling hastily on the right-hand shore. Looking 
up-stream, I could count as many as six galleys about two 
stadia away ; two large heavy ships, with hanging decks, 
were sailing down the left bank; and mid-channel I 
recognised the towering sides and rounded prow of the 
Melkarth, her oars shipped, and her sails furled, being 
towed by a low, open rowing-boat. The camp, of which 
we had noticed the fires in the darkness, was much too 
far off to be visible by daylight. The shore on either 
side was perfectly flat and treeless, but covered with fields 
of clover and of corn that was nearly ripe, as the harvest- 
time was drawing nigh. On the left bank, about two 
bowshots from the water, a steep dyke, surmounted by a 
causeway, had been thrown up as a protection during the 
annual inundation. Far away to the south, the white 
buildings of a city could be distinguished ; and in the north 
could be seen the yellowish-whitey waters of the river bar, 
with the broad green surface of the sea beyond. 

We were hardly six stadia from the mouth of the river ; 
the strong east wind and the current were both in our 
favour, and once out at sea we should have little to fear. I 
determined, therefore, to make an attack upon the Egyptians 
before the Me/karth could get ahead of us, for I knew that 
once in front of us, her very bulk would be a formidable 
obstacle to our retreat, and that she could overwhelm 
us with a storm of missiles; while the superior height of 
her deck would not only prevent our men from boarding 
her, but, on the contrary, would give her men every facility 
for boarding us. 

My first manceuvre was to slip my moorings, and to 
take up my position in the middle of the channel, so as to 
be out of reach of the archers on the shore. The Dagon 
had shifted her prow to the north, and lay half a bowshot 
below me; the Cadzros was to my left, her prow south- 
ward. The sails were all furled, the rowers were ordered 
to backwater very gently so as to just keep the vessels in 


84 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





their places, and each pilot took his stand by the side of 

the helmsman. Hannibal posted his archers fore and aft, 
and grouped his soldiers round the mast. Hanno and 
I mounted the prow, and my trumpeter followed. The 
gigantic Jonah remained with Hannibal ; he could not be 
persuaded either to put on a cuirass or to take a lance, but 
stood, clarion in hand, watching all our preparations with a 
curious eye. 

The scorpions had already been supplied with missiles, 
and each vessel was provided with a number of earthen- 
ware pots filled with sulphur and pitch. We improvised, 
also, a quantity of fire-ships, formed of small planks, into 
which spikes were driven, to which were fastened well- 
greased goat-skins charged with combustibles. 

We had not long to wait. Very soon were heard the 
shrill notes of the small Egyptian trumpets, and the decks 
of the ships were seen manned with troops. I could 
discern the smooth brown faces of the soldiers, and make 
out that they were armed with battle-axes and large 
triangular shields ; and I could see that the archers, with 
their legs bare, and poignards in their girdles, were ranged 
along the sides of the ships. The rowers, more than half- 
naked (clothed merely by a strip around their loins), plied 
their paddles, according to their custom, standing. On 
board the Me/karth, Bodmilcar was easily distinguished ; 
he was in a state of great excitement and activity, and 
apparently giving some explanation to an Egyptian officer, 
a man dressed in green and wearing a large wig, with his 
face and arms painted with cinnabar, in accordance with 
the common fashion of their men of rank. 

The soldiers that manned the small boats were nearly as 
slightly clad as the rowers ; they carried poignards in their 
girdles, and were armed with axes and staves pointed 
at both ends, in the use of which the Egyptians are 
notoriously skilful. Although all appeared in considerable 
commotion, not one of the vessels made any attempt tc 
advance, and there seemed a general state of expectation. 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 85 





The solution of all this was soon apparent. A large 
boat was seen to detach itself from the general mass, and 
make its way down-stream towards us. Eight rowers 
stood paddling on the raised bow and stern; twelve 
soldiers, with square plates of bronze strapped on their 
breasts, and armed with lances, daggers, and short scimitars, 
were in the middle; and amongst them was an Egyptian 
officer of high rank. He was arrayed in two tunics of 
striped gauze, crossed one over the other upon his breast ; 
a girdle ornamented with enamel plates was round his 
waist, and a large gold and enamelled bird with out- 
stretched wings was suspended by a gold chain from his 
neck. His head was covered with a tall cap, bearing an 
enamel plate inscribed with the name of Pharaoh in 
hieroglyphics ; his beard was enclosed in a casing of red 
cloth; and in his hand was a gilt battle-axe, elaborately 
inlaid with figures of animals and other symbols. On one 
side of this sumptuous personage was a closely-shorn 
priest or scribe, habited entirely in white, and holding an 
inkhorn and some papyrus in his hand; on the other, 
in full Syrian armour, was our old friend Hazael. I could 
not resist a smile as I caught sight of a pile of chains and 
manacles lying in the boat. 

On the Egyptian officer shouting that he wanted to 
come on board and speak to me, I gave permission for his 
boat to come alongside the Ashtforeth, and, followed by his 
scribe and five of the soldiers, with the greatest arrogance 
he stepped on deck. MHazael had the discretion to remain 
behind, where he was. I received the magnate with all 
courtesy, and saluted him after the fashion of his own 
country, but instead of acknowledging it in any way, he 
began with the most overbearing insolence to exclaim : 

“Down, down, you Pheenician thieves, and sue for 
Pharaoh’s mercy !” 

Finding that such was the tone he took, I answered 
sternly : 

“No thieves are we, nor have we injured Pharaoh; sa 


86 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





far from imploring Pharaoh’s mercy, we have a right te 
demand Pharaoh’s protection.” 

“Out upon your falsehoods!” retorted the enraged 
Egyptian ; “have you not this very night been attempting 
your escape ?” 

“No,” I said emphatically ; “we were cut adrift. The 
real thieves are amongst you. That rascal Bodmilcar and 
that vile eunuch stole the royal letters that they brought ta 
you.” 

“Silence!” shouted the Egyptian in impetuous fury ; 
“too well we understand your frauds. Out with your 
hands! the handcuffs are ready here, and you and the 
slave that you have stolen must come along to Pharaoh. 
Never fear but ample justice shall be done!” 

The scribe was opening his inkhorn for the purpose 
of taking down our names, when I burst out into a roar of 
laug’ ter. 

“Do you take us for fools?” I said; “why on earth 
should we leave our ships to go and hear a slanderous 
catalogue of lies alleged against us? No, no, sire, we 
remain where we are.” 

The Egyptian literally stamped with rage. “ Villains! 
pirates! thieves!” he cried ; “every one of you shall die a 
death of torment.” 

Throughout this interview I had taken care never for a 
moment to lose sight of the fleet above-stream ; and seeing 
that the ships were now in motion, without paying the 
least regard to the continued ravings of the grand official, I 
ordered my trumpeter to sound an alarm. The Egyptian, 
followed closely by his scribe, hurried towards his boat ; 
his soldiers, to cover his retreat, rapidly crossed their lances. 
Chamai, Hannibal, and Hanno, mistaking the movement, 
and supposing they were making an attack on me, fell 
upon them with drawn swords; and the huge Jonah, 
throwing down his trumpet, rushed into the fray, and 
wresting a lance from one of the soldiers’ hands, took him 
by the shoulders and dashed his head twice or thrice 





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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 87 





against the side of the ship. It is a popular belief that the 
Egyptians are a hard-headed race, but I avow that this 
fellow’s skull cracked like a ripe water-melon. 

Meanwhile, Hannibal had cut the throat of another of the 
soldiers, and Chamai had plunged his sword into the body 
of a third. I was struggling to wrench the lance from the 
erasp of a fourth, when taking alarm at the number of 
my men, he turned about, and following the example of 
his sole remaining comrade, sprang overboard and swam 
like a frog. But they were not to escape so easily ; Bichri, 
who was standing near the wale of the vessel, hit one of 
them with an arrow, and the rowers stunned the other by 
blows with their oars. Thus the whole five were entirely 
disposed of ; but the real conflict was yet to come. 

As soon as the Egyptians were aware of the fray, one 
of their galleys from the right bank drew rapidly towards 
us, and the whole bevy of small boats that had gathered 
round kept up a continuous flight of arrows, every one of 
which, however, either stuck in the ship’s side or went 
whistling over our heads. 

A single glance was sufficient to reveal to me the 
enemy’s tactics. Just as I had anticipated, the M/elkarth 
was being towed down the stream towards the right, 
obviously with the design to pass us and gct below, so as 
to cut off our retreat. Their immediate design was to 
divert our attention from this manceuvre, and for this 
purpose two large ships were ordered to bear down upon 
us, and a flotilla of small boats was sent to keep up a storm 
of arrows. Hannibal immediately, by my directions, set 
his catapults to work, and a volley of stones and pots full 
of pitch and sulphur was discharged, right over the Cadiros, 
on to the approaching vessels. I then ordered the Cad/ros 
and the Dagon to move simultaneously, right and left of 
me, but in opposite directions: the Cadzros northwards to- 
wards the galleys that were obstructing our way, the Dagov 
straight down upon the boat that was towing the Mel/harth. 
I could see Bodmilcar upon the prow of the great gaoul, 


88 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





wildly endeavouring to make the Egyptians understand 
their danger, and urging the rowers to get their oars into 
the water; but he was too late. Our movements had 
taken them completely by surprise. The Dagon, cutting 
her way full speed through the crowd of small boats, 
crushed or capsized all that came in her course ; the Ash- 
toreth, \iberated by the departure of the Cadiros, effec- 
tually kept in check the ships that were trying to pass down 
the stream ; and the Cadzros, that had gone northward, by 
sending out a number of fire-floats that drifted on in 
advance, completely discomfited the two galleys that were 
guarding the mouth of the river. 

Our tactics were a perfect success. One of the Egyptian 
ships was run into by the As/toreth with such violence 
that it was cut asunder, and sank immediately ; and the 
other, harassed by the pots of combustibles, and alarmed at 
the eddy caused by the foundering of its consort, purposely 
ran aground. The Dagon, after staving in the towing-boat 
like a piece of rotten wood, had returned to me; and as we 
had the satisfaction of seeing Bodmilcar’s crew cut their 
tow-rope, we both turned our attention to the galley which 
was retiring from the attack and falling back upon the 
Melkarth. Simultaneously passing it quite close, one on 
each side, we swept off both its tiers of oars, and hurling 
down upon it a final shower of arrows, we filed off to join 
the Cabiros, which was still engaged in discharging its 
missiles and fire-floats at the other two galleys. 

The contest had been sharp but short. In less than 
an hour we had rendered the Melkarth incapable of 
action ; had sunk two Egyptian vessels; had sent a third 
aground: and had crushed or capsized at least fifteen 
small boats. 

The surface of the water was covered with the dér7s, 
and not a few men could be seen drifting along in the 
current. Thrown into utter confusion by our unlooked-fot 
attack, the rest of the Egyptian vessels floundered about in 
each others’ way, and totally prevented the J/Zelkarth from 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 89 
obtaining another tug-boat. Finding, therefore, that those 
need give me no concern, I gave my attention to the galleys 
in front, and sent adrift a dozen or more fire-floats, which 
the crew of the Cadiros sent down-stream with their boat- 
hooks. The galleys gave way; and, feeling that there 
was no immediate impediment, I proceeded towards them 
calmly to the north, leaving our assailants confounded by 
their disaster, and Bodmilcar raving furiously on the poop 
of his helpless ship. Bichri lamented that he could not let 
fly an arrow at him, but it was utterly useless, as we were 
already too far away. 








“ A drawn battle!” said the brave archer, coming forward 
from the stern. 

“Yes,” said I; “the rascal has had bad luck this morning ; 
but he will watch his opportunity. We haven’t done with 
each other yet.” 

“T hope not,” said Hanno, vindictively. 

Presently there was a movement among the Egyptian 
ships, and three of them, having extricated themselves from 
the maze of confusion, had commenced a pursuit of us, 
accompanied by a number of little boats. At the same 


. 90 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





moment I espied a troop of horsemen galloping along the 
shore; and raising my eyes to the causeway on the top 
of the dyke, I observed a cloud of dust, from the midst of 
which broke ever and again the gleam of a row of bronze 
and gilded chariots. There was no room for doubt ; 
evidently the King himself was approaching with the inten- 
tion of being a witness of our capture. 

But the mighty Pharaoh had come too late! 

Out of forty or fifty fireships which we had set afloat, 
two at last had run foul of one of the galleys, which was 
now in flames, and the terrified crew were fain to resort to 
the usual naval manceuvre of the Egyptians, and run their 
ship aground. The vessels that had started in pursuit of 
us were still at least two stadia in our rear, so that we had 
ample time to tackle with the single galley that remained 
ahead to bar our progress. 

“Board her! board her! Let us board her!” shouted 
Hannibal, Hanno, and Chamai, with unanimous accord. 

“We have no time, and she’s not worth the trouble,” I 
replied ; “we will sink her.” 

“Down she goes, then, like a stone,” cried Himilco. 

The Cadiros, without meeting with any resistance beyond 
a few chance stones and straggling arrows, now slipped 
quietly under the very prow of the galley, and with 
unfurled sail was making off to sea. The Dagon was 
about to follow her, but at a signal from me, Hasdrubal 
bore down upon the galley’s stern, whilst I simultaneously 
drove straight against her flank, and between us we literally 
cut her in two. Down sank the galley in a whirlpool of 
foam ; and our last obstacle being thus removed, we hoisted 
our sails and rode out to sea, our trumpets sounding out a 
flourish of victory. 

Behind us rose a discordant howl of maledictions. We 
were out of reach. It was utterly impossible for our 
enemies in their little nut-shells of vessels to follow where 
our victorious prows were now cleaving the foamy billows ; 
and when we were fairly out at sea, steering due west, I 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. gl 





could see, as I looked along the low flat coast, that the 
Egyptian masts were quite motionless. It was evident, 
therefore, that Bodmilcar had advised them to abandon 
their pursuit. 

Fifteen of our men were wounded, nearly all of them 
slightly, and two had been killed; whilst the loss of the 
enemy, including those slain by the archers, burnt by the 
fire-ships, or drowned by the waters of their own sacred 
Nile, must have been nearly three hundred. 

It did not take long to repair whatever damage we had 
sustained. Some broken oars on board the Ashtoreth, and 
a few more on board the Dagon, were replaced from the 
reserves ; the decks were washed down, the stays strength- 
ened, some broken ropes spliced, and the arrows that had 
lodged in the rigging and ship’s sides removed. All our 
wounded had been carried below; and the bodies of the 
three Egyptians, having been stripped of any spoil of value, 
were thrown overboard. The bodies of our own two men 
were also committed to the waves with an invocation on 
their behalf to Menath, Hokk, and Rhadamath, the judges 
of the infernal regions.’ In less than three hours everything 
was as much in order as though nothing had happened. 
Chryseis and Abigail, who had all along rendered what 
assistance they could, were rejoicing in their freedom; 
Hanno, whose nerve had never failed him, and Chamai 
fully sharing in their delight. 

I sent for Hasdrubal to come on board, that he might 
join Himilco and myself in a council of war. When we 
were alone together, I said: 

“Listen to me. There is no shadow of doubt that we 
shall be pursued. Ascending the eastern outlet of the 
river, the Egyptians will come down by the western ; they 
may come either by the Canopic or Phanitic branch ; and 
at both Pharos and Canope there is no question but that 
the King has ships in readiness. They can anticipate us 
there ; couriers by land can arrive by early morning; we, 


* ‘Phe Minos, Eacus, and RKhadamanthus of the Greeks. 


92 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





with our utmost speed, could not arrive till long beyond 
mid-day. Somewhere or other we must of necessity put in 
to shore again; our supply of water is all but gone.” 

To Himilco’s suggestion that we had wine enough to 
meet our need, I vouchsafed no other reply than a shrug of 
the shoulders, and continued : 

“ My intention was to take in a fresh supply this very 
evening, but this skirmish has frustrated everything. Go 
ashore we must; and this is the scheme that I propose ; 
we will re-enter the river by the Sebennitic mouth, which 





is nearest to us now; they will never suspect us of ven 
tuting on land so soon; probably they will not be there at 
all; if they are, we must use main force; but water we 
must have.” 

My companions approved my plan, but expressed their 
anxiety as to what was to happen afterwards. 

“T do not think,” I said, “that because we have lost the 
gaoul that we need at all contemplate abandoning our 
expedition. Failing to find us at either Canope or Pharos, 
the Egyptians will watch for us all along the coast ; and at 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 93 





last Bodmilcar, who knows our destination, will get re- 
inforcements from Pharaoh and will chase us right on to 
Tarshish. Sooner or later we shall be pretty sure of fall- 
ing in with him; but for the present, at least, we can elude 
him thoroughly. Here is my project. The wind is ncrth- 
east and favourable ; by steering by the sun in the day- 
time, and by keeping the Cabiros a little to our left at 
night, I do not fear but that in five days at most we might 
reach the shores of the great island, Crete.” 

Himilco and Hasdrubal stared at me in mingled admira- 
tion and surprise. 

“From Egypt to Crete! Across the open sea! An 
unheard-of thing! Can it be possible ?” 

Such were the exclamations with which they heard my 
proposition. 

“Aye, harder things than that may be done,” I con- 
tinued ; “the wind isn’t likely to change till next new 
moon; but even should it change and we happen to miss 
Crete, we shall only run upon the mainland, or on one of 
the islands of the Archipelago. Thence we can get round 
Cape Malea to Sicily, from Sicily to Carthage, from 
Carthage direct to Tarshish. That’s our course, now.” 

“By our goddess Ashtoreth, your scheme is beautiful!” 
cried Hannibal; “and meanwhile the Egyptian rascals will 
be floundering about the Syrtes.” 

“And rough enough they’ll find them,” said Himilco, 
“T was well-nigh drowned there two years back ; and let 
us hope that Bodmilcar and his Tyrian sneaks, bad luck to 
them! may come to grief. How I should like to hang 
them all like a string of fishes, fastened by their gills!” 

We were not long in reaching the little town of Sebennys. 
The Cadbiros was first sent ashore, and returned with the 
tidings that all was quiet. I paid the customary dues to 
the Egyptian governor of the place, and despatched a 
number of our sailors to procure the requisite supply of 
water; they took the opportunity of purchasing several 
baskets of onions and some good fresh meat. Before the 


Pl 


94 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





end of the day we had turned our backs upon the land, 
and were making our venturous way north-west. 

“ And now, for our dishes and platters,” I cried; “I am 
frightfully hungry.” 

We seated ourselves in the stern, and joined by Chryseis 
and Abigail, we formed a large and merry group. The 
sailors and soldiers all were served with a ration of wine 
in honour of the morning’s victory. 

“T see we have changed our course,” said Hanno; “are 
we making for Crete ?” 

“Ves,” I replied; and added that I supposed it was a 
place already known to the fair Chryseis. 

Chamai inquired whether it was not the same as Chittim. 

“No, not the same,’ I answered; “ this island is full of 
mountains, upon which are goats with spreading horns like 
those of Arabia; the people are famous for their skill as 
archers.” 

“ Bichri, then, may find his match,” said Chamai. “But 
to what nation do they belong ?” 

“They are Phrygians and Dorians,” I told him; “ fair, 
tall men, with handsome faces and well-formed limbs ; they 


" have built towns in which some of our Sidonian merchants 


have recently settled, getting there by way of Chittim 
and Rhodes. Chryseis speaks the same language as the 
Dorians.” 

Chamai, ever full of interest in Chryseis, expressed his 
pleasure at hearing that she was about to go amongst a 
people kindred to herself, and was inquiring whether they 
were a martial race, when Chryseis interposed, and with 
H{anno’s assistance explained that the Dorians, like the 
Ionians of the Isles, and the Achaians on the mainland, 
were renowned warriors, and that the fame of their con- 
quests had spread far and wide. 

“How large, how vast the world must be!” exclaimed 
Hannibal; “here is a people, famed in war, whose very name 
I scarcely know. But is it not from Crete that we get our 
Chalcidian swords ?” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 95 





Smiling at his mistake, I made him understand that 
Chalcidian swords were made of copper from the island 
of Chalcis, and that the Phcenicians could not elsewhere 
procure copper that would take so fine a temper. 

Hannibal went on to ask Hanno to inquire of Chryseis 
what were the military tactics of the Ionians, and how they 
paid their soldiers. 

“Do you expect us women to know such things as 
these ?” asked Abigail, with a merry laugh; “a woman 
knows well enough that her countrymen can fight, and 
she knows how to prize the spoils they bring her from the 
battle-field ; but what can she know of the art of war?” 

Chryseis seemed amused at her maid’s vivacity, and 
proceeded to enumerate the most illustrious military leaders 
of her land. I heard her name Achilles, and Ajax, and 
a certain king called Agamemnon; and I understood her 
to relate that two kings in her country, named Jason 
and Ulysses, were renowned for the voyages they had 
made. 

“Voyages!” cried Himilco, scornfully ; “I can guess what 
their voyages were: creeping along and hugging the shore; 
making perhaps a stadium a day; never looking at a star. * 
And then, what ships they had! I am glad I haven't to 
trust myself in one of them from Sidon to Chittim.” . 

Chryseis owned that, as to ships, she had never seen 
anything in her own country that could be compared to 
the ships of the Phoenicians, adding that she thought 
that the mariners of Phoenicia must be true sea-gods. 

“And you must be their goddess,” said Hanno, with 
enthusiasm. 

“Ah, young man,” yawned out Hannibal, “you should 
put your fine speeches in Ionian; the lady does not 
understand you.” 

The lady, however, bent her head gracefully, and raised 
a laugh by saying in good Phcenician that she perfectly 
understood what had passed. 


96 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Trust a woman for understanding a compliment,” was 
Hannibal’s remark. 

“T should like to see the effect,” said Himilco, “of one 
of Hanno’s pretty speeches upon Gisgo’s wife; her Celtic 
dialect is something like the croaking of Bodmilcar’s 
ravens.” 

It was now getting dark, and as he spoke, Himilco moved 
off to his post upon the prow, and I took up my watch 
upon the stern. All that night, and all the following day, 
the wind freshened till it blew a gale; being all in our 
favour, its violence caused me no alarm, but well-nigh all 
on board, conscious of being far away from land, and 
beholding nothing but sea andsky, were filled with terror ; 
and as the ship at one moment was carried high upon the 
crests of the enormous waves, and at another was sunk 
low in what seemed an unfathomable abyss, they became 
almost paralysed with alarm; they lost their appetites 
entirely, and were incessant in their invocations to their 
sods, The gale next night increased to a hurricane, and 
on the morning shifted to the south, driving us to the north 
at the rate of 1800 stadia in a day. 

Happily, although our ships were thus flying over the 
sea, they kept well together. Towards evening the wind 
dropped a little, and on the morning of the fourth day it 
was comparatively calm; the sky was very clear, and, to 
our vast delight, the man on watch at the top of the 
mast announced that land was in sight. I joined Himilco 
on the prow, and both of us could plainly distinguish in the 
sunlight the peaks of some snow-capped mountains. By 
the afternoon the view of land was plain to every one on 
board, and before the stars had risen, we were skirting a 
coast that seemed so rocky as to be inaccessible. 

It was long past midnight before we could discover any 
anchorage at all; at last we found a small exposed bay 
where a river coursing along a bottom of white sand 
entered the sea. Towards the east, masses of thick woods 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 97 





could be made out, with snowy peaks of higher ridges 
rising up behind them. The Cad:ros was hauled up on 
shore close to the river’s mouth, and, the water in the bay 
being found sufficiently deep, the two galleys were moored 
to some of the great boulder-stones upon the beach. The 
coast was quite desolate, and there was no sign of human 
habitation, 


98 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 


- —— 





CHAPTER VI. 


CRETE AND THE CRETANS, 


NO sooner were the ships safely settled in their moorings, 
than Himilco and I, who had both been up on watch 
throughout the last four nights, retired to take the rest 
that we so much needed, and, worn out by fatigue, I did 
not wake until the sun was high above the horizon. 

The shore was still quite deserted; the steep rocky 
mountains appeared for the most part to rise perpen- 
dicularly from the sea; and the little valley of the river 
soon lost itself in a deep gorge, densely wooded with 
myrtles and holm-oaks, 

My first care was to send a squad of sailors on shore to 
fill our barrels and goat-skins with a supply of fresh water ; 
I next ordered a guard of soldiers and archers to be landed 
ready for any emergency; and then despatched Bichri, 
accompanied by half a score of bowmen, up the gorge to 
explore the mountains. There was abundance of wood 
about, and I determined to light some fires and cook our 
morning meal upon the strand. I likewise pitched a 
couple of tents, in which I laid out some of our merchandise, 
in case Bichri should fall in with any of the natives of the 
island. Jonah made himself especially prominent by his 
services on the occasion ; he carried wood enough on his 
back to load three ordinary men, and lifted a barrel of 
water without any assistance, remarking that, if any one 
would give him wine in it to drink, he would lift a barrel 
twice the size, 


es 
re 
a 





ASVATd 


HLIA 


“HYOAL S,ONINYOW SIH 








THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 9g 





About midday Bichri returned, tired with his wanderings, 
but well pleased with his morning’s work. He had come 
across several of the natives on the mountains ; they fled 
at his approach, but being an experienced mountaineer he 
had followed them from rock to rock, and had at length 
succeeded in capturing one of them. The others had 
pelted him with stones from a distance, but he had sus- 
tained no injury, and, in accordance with the orders I had 
given him, he had acted strictly on the defensive, and had 
not in any way returned their violence. The prisoner that 
he brought with him was a great strapping fellow, with 
a quantity of glossy black hair and a skin as brown as a 
Midianite’s; his eyes were black and obliquely set; his 
face wide, with projecting cheek-bones, and a pointed chin. 
He had no other covering except the skin of a wild: goat, 
which was thrown over his shoulders and fastened round 
his waist by a cord, and on his bare neck and arms were a 
necklace and bracelets made of shells. A hatchet with 
which he had defended himself had been wrested from him 
by Bichri; it was made of a highly polished stone of a 
greenish hue, and had a strong wooden handle. 

As soon as the barbarian was brought to me he began 
with many gesticulations to speak in a language of which I 
did not understand a word. I restored him his hatchet, 
made him a present of a piece of red cloth,. and after 
showing him the goods in the tent, gave him his liberty. 
He bounded off towards the mountains and disappeared 
among the trees. 

Two hours afterwards he came back with several other 
men, half-naked as himself, and armed with lances and 
rudely-made bows. When within about a hundred paces 
of us, they stopped and waved some boughs of myrtle. I 
ordered my men to do the same, and then I advanced to 
meet them, making Hanno accompany me, and display 
some pieces of red cloth and strings of glass beads. 
Gradually the savages gained courage and were induced to 
approach, and at last to enter our tent. There was one 


100 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





of them who seemed to be a sort of chief, and acted as 
spokesman; he first pointed to the sky and ejaculated, 
« Britomartis ;’ and then to the mountains, saying “ Phala- 
sarna, Phalasarna.” It was evidently not the first time he 
had come in contact with Phoenicians, for as soon as he 
caught sight of our ships he cried “Sidon! Sidon!” and 
touching our tunics, he called them “kitons.” 

We gave him an old kitonet, and distributed a quantity 
of glass beads amongst his followers, who brought us in 
return a couple of wild goats, and some partridges, which 
they called “hamalla.” 

Towards evening another of their number, an old man, 
came to us; he wore a kitonet under his goat’s skin and 
had on an old pair of sandals. He could speak a little 
Phoenician, and succeeded in making us understand that he 
was of the race of the Cydonians, who had been the original 
possessors of the island, until the Phrygians and the Leleges 
had made war upon them and forced them to take refuge, 
east and west, where the mountains were most inaccessible. 
The whole of the coast, and the central highland, as well as 
the fertile valleys of the north and south, were now occu- 
pied by the conquerors, who had subsequently been joined 
by a colony of Dorians, so that, altogether, the Cydonians 
were being gradually exterminated. I now comprehended 
how it was that I, who had always approached Crete from 
the north by way of Caria and Rhodes, had never seen 
any inhabitants except Dorians; whilst other Phoenician 
captains who had landed on the eastern extremity of the 
island—where they had discovered some _ insignificant 
mines, and opened a small traffic in the ore—had always 
transacted business with the Cydonians, 

The old man likewise informed us that his people had 
a town, up in the mountains, called Phalasarna ; also that 
their goddess was Britomartis, which in their language 
signifies “the gentle virgin.” He was delighted with the 
wine which I gave him; and on receiving, as a present, 
a couple of lance-heads and a necklace of enamelled 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 101 





earthen beads, he promised to get us next day as much 
fresh meat as we wanted. 

Upon its growing dark, the barbarians retired to their 
mountains. Hannibal took the precaution of doubling the 
number of his sentinels, but we were quite undisturbed 
throughout the night. 

In the morning the Cydonians returned and brought 
some goats. They are not in any way an agricultural 
people, and consequently could not provide us with either 
corn or vegetables, but they brought us a quantity both 
of wild fruit and wild honey. I showed them a picture of 
an ox, and tried to make them know that that was the 
animal I wanted them to get me, but they explained that 
they had none of their own upon the mountains, and 
that such an animal had been quite unknown upon the 
island until it was introduced by the Phrygians. 

Pointing in the evening to the crescent moon, the bar- 
barians told me that it was Britomartis, their goddess of 
the chase. Chryseis said she knew this goddess by the 
name of Artemis, from which I drew the inference that 
the Cydonians might have taught her worship to the 
Dorians, who would have made her known to the Ionians. 
The offerings that are accustomed to be made in her 
honour are hinds and deer; and I have heard it said that 
young men have been sacrificed as victims on her altar ; 
but this is mere tradition, and I do not pretend to state 
it as a fact. I feel quite certain, for my own part, tha 
although this goddess is the moon, she is not identical 
with our goddess Ashtoreth, otherwise she would not have 
been content only to encourage them to hunt, but would 
have taught them the science of navigation. 

The Cydonians are also acquainted with the god of the 
Phrygian tribes of the Curetes and the Corybantes, who 
have a city called Cnossus in the island, where they have 
built a temple. This god is a white bull, although some- 
times he is known to take the form of a man. The 
Dorians affirm of him that he is the primitive god of the 


102 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





country, but the Cydonians protest against this statement, 
and maintain that he was imported hither by the Curetes. 
I myself had never heard of the god. I cannot believe 
that he is either the Apis of the Egyptians or our own 
great Moloch. Chryseis asserts that she knows him by the 
name of Zeus, and believes that once upon a time he crossed 
the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Ionia, 
carrying a fair maiden on his back. He is said to be a 
fine and majestic creature, and the Phrygians of Crete 
honour him with dances, howlings, and the music of tam- 
bourines: his priests are of the tribe of the Corybantes, 
the progeny of Corybis. It was mentioned by Chryseis 
that a bull had once married a queen of the island, named 
Pasiphae, by whom he had a strange offspring, half-man, 
half-bull; but the monster was destroyed, she thought, 
by some Dorian or Ionian King. I can hardly persuade 
myself that this bull was Zeus; and I am rather inclined 
to suspect that the whole story is a fable, depicting some 
victory gained by the lonians over the mixed Phrygian 
tribes that had made good their settlement upon the 
island. 

I openly avowed my own conviction that this god was 
not our own god Moloch. Moloch was far more powerful 
than any god of the Ionians; he was much too mighty to 
permit foreigners to triumph over his own people. It was 
quite possible that the Phrygians had not honoured their 
bull-god Zeus as they were bound, and he, in anger, had 
abandoned them to their conquerors ; but this was not like 
Moloch ; no, he was not Moloch. 

“Gods! gods!” cried Chamai, who had overheard the 
tenor of our talk; “who are all these gods? There is 
one only God; and El is His thrice-holy name. Another 
name He has, but ¢kat we are forbidden to pronounce. 
In His sight Moloch, Zeus, Artemis, Melkarth, all are 
nothing. Chemosh could not defend the Moabites against 
our hosts ; Dagon could not protect the Philistines of Gaza 
and of Askelon; Nisroch could not lead the Syrians af 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 103 





Zobah on to victory ; Adrammelech was impotent to gain 
a triumph at Damascus; and Baalim could not prevail in 
behalf of the Amalekites. They all are nothing. It is 
the Almighty El, the Lord of hosts, the Maker of the 
heaven and the earth, that is the only God. He has 
brought us out of Egypt; He has established us in our 
goodly lands. He is the God invisible and true, the God 
of vengeance and of power.” 

“ However much I may confess,” said Hannibal, inter- 
rupting Chamai’s earnest protest, “that your mighty I] 
may be the god of the mountains and the plains, it cannot 
be denied that our Ashtoreth is the goddess of the ocean. 
See what glorious victories she has gained for us Sidonians ; 
she has made us monarchs of the sea! For Moloch and 
Melkarth I have no reverence whatever ; but still I think 
that Baal and the gods of Arvad should be honoured in 
the countries they have favoured with their care.” 

“And don’t forget our great Cabiri,” put in Himilco; 
“what would all our Tyrian pilots do without their 
guidance and protection ?” 

“T know nothing about pilots,” Chamai said; adding, 
“for my part I shall be content to worship El, our Lord 
Almighty, by land, by sea, and everywhere.” 

So ended the discussion ; and every one having made 
his invocation to his own special divinity, all retired to 
rest. 

There was little more to be gained from the Cydonians -; 
accordingly, on the following morning, having made a few 
trifling purchases, I prepared to start. My own intention 
was first to round the western limit of the island and to 
steer full north; next, having sighted the two Cytheras, to 
coast along the mainland till we reached the mouth of the 
Achelous, where I hoped to replenish our supply of water, 
and to transact some profitable business with the natives ; 
thence, passing between Zacynthus and Cephallenia, I 
reckoned I could take our course between the mainland 
and the island of the Siculi; once there, I would coast 


104 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





along the north of it to Lilybzum, from which headland 
the distance was only 380 stadia across to Carthage. Such 
was my project; but whether any of the gods had been 
incensed at our discussion the preceding night, or whether 
they were disposed to put the capabilities of our vessels to 
the test, certain it is that they had decreed that our course 
should be very different. 

The sky was dull and lowering, and Himilco drew my 
attention to some lurid clouds that were gathering in the 
south-west. 

“No time to lose,” I said; “unless we can get ahead of 
the hurricane that is brewing down there, we shall run the 
risk of being dashed on this rugged and unsheltered coast. 
There is safe anchorage on the northern shore, and thither 
with all speed we must betake ourselves before the storm 
shall break.” 

The weather was unnaturally calm; but I knew the 
necessity of urging the rowers to full speed, and the ships 
made rapid progress to the west. In the course of twelve 
hours I calculated we had made about 450 stadia, and had 
got quite clear of the island ; but by this time the sky had 
become obscured with low heavy clouds, and there was no 
room to doubt that the tempest was approaching. I con- 
tinued to keep well out to sea, and fortunate for us I did 
so; for at nightfall, when we were, as I conjectured, about 
150 stadia from the land, the storm overtook us in its 
fullest fury. The hurricane blew from the south-west 
and feeling satisfied that by abandoning ourselves to its 
violence we should be carried nearly north between Crete 
and the lesser Cythera, I ordered a sail to be hoisted, and 
permitted the wind to drive us on before it. 

Throughout that night we knew not where we were 
The rain poured down in torrents ; wave followed wave in 
quick succession, dashing masses of water on to our decks, 
and our helmsmen had the utmost difficulty in controlling 
the vessels so that they should not present their broadsides 
to the squalls. The crash of the thunder was incessant, and 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 105 





by the vivid glare of the lightning we could sce where the 
seething foam was rent asunder into black and yawning 
chasms, 

In spite of the heavy seas that they continually shipped, 
our vessels, all three, bore up admirably. I made’ the 
rowers and the soldiers set to work with scoops to bale out 
the water, and under the supervision of Hannibal and the 
oarsman in command, who spared neither fair words nor 
hard blows to keep them to their task, they worked 
away with a will. 

In a voice loud enough to be heard above the roar of the 
tempest, I shouted to Chamai that now was the time to 
invoke his God. To Bichri’s inquiries whether the danger 
was really great, I answered that I had experienced worse 
weather in the Syrtes, and had known worse peril on the 
sea beyond the Straits of Gades, the swell out there being 
very long ; but here, though rough and strong, the sea was 
short, and the ships seemed as though they might hold 
their own. 

Chryseis and Abigail were in their cabin locked in each 
other’s arms. Chamai and Bichri, although quite un- 
accustomed to the sea, and scarcely able to maintain their 
footing, kept up their spirits bravely, and to their very 
utmost assisted the sailors in securing the rigging and 
making fast the stowage; but nothing could exceed the 
terror of the great hulking Jonah, who, in the most abject 
state of alarm, threw himself down upon the floor of the 
hold, where, like a big bundle, he was rolled about at every 
pitch and lurching of the vessel. 

“Oh, oh! why did I come ?” he groaned, in the agonies 
of despair ; “ why did I come? why did I leave the village 
where I had plenty, and more than plenty? I shall be 
drowned, drowned in the sea, and the fishes will cat me! 
Oh oh? 

“Out of the way, you great camel!” said Hannibal, 
giving the poor wretch a tremendous kick in the ribs; 
“you will be smashing something if you keep floundering 


106 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





about in this way ; you all but threw me down just now. 
Here, some of you,” he called to the sailors, “come and 
lash this fool to the foot of the mast.” 

The unwieldy giant was rolled helplessly along, and 
bound securely as Hannibal ‘directed. 

Going to the stern, I found Himilco doing his best to 
instruct the helmsman. He informed me that he had 
quite lost sight of the Dagon. Just as he spoke, an 
enormous wave almost dashed the Cadiros against our 
side, and a vivid flash of lightning revealed Hamilcar and 
Gisgo gesticulating vehemently to their men. 

“ A fine beginning to our voyage!” shouted Gisgo, as he 
passed us. 

“Hold on, man; face it out! and we shall conquer in 
the end,” I screamed in reply. 

To Hanno, who stood clinging to a rope, gazing out 
upon the sea, I said: 

“Keep up your courage, Hanno.” 

“T have courage enough for Chryseis and for myself as 
well,” he answered, cheerily ; “but I confess,” he added, “I 
have never seen weather so bad as this.” 

At this moment we were startled by the voice of Himilco, 
shouting vehemently : 

“The sail! the sail! look to the sail!” 

The sailors flew to the yard. We were all but capsized ; 
an immense wave had turned the ship’s side to the wind, 
and the sail was driven tight to the mast. A flash of 
lightning, more dazzling than any that had gone before, 
threw its vivid glare epee great round vessel right in 
front of us. 

“The Melkarth ! Bodmilcar!” cried Himilco and Hanno 
the same instant. 

A second flash. There was no mistake; beyond all 
doubt there was the Me/karth, and Bodmilcar, standing 
erect upon the poop, seemed to be controlling the very 
winds and waves. 

A third flash gleamed out amidst the continuous crash: 





: = 

nao “~ >. a 

a tees Oy, co 

Piya bat) ee 
i" C= as 


ate 


Chae 
aa. 


a 
: oa 


a 


Paes 
tees. 


fay 
y 





[oes 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 107 





ing of the thunder, but it revealed nothing except the 
raging waste of waters; the Mel/karth had vanished in 
the darkness. 

“Khousor Phtah! is working away up there with his 
hammer,” said Himilco ; “but let him hammer ; he will not 
harm us; we have the Cabiri on our side.” 

The next hour was a period of intense anxiety. As far 
as I could judge the tempest was bearing us northwards, 
but I had no means of knowing for certain whether it was 
so, Every wave threatened to break upon the ship’s side, 
and the Cadzros, which was quite close to us, appeared 
sometimes towering high above our heads, and at others 
gulfed down far below our feet. I was standing with 
Himilco and the two helmsmen over the stern cabin, when 
a sea, heavier than any we had yet encountered, swept 
clean across the deck. I clung to the ship’s side, and when 
I raised myself, half stunned and half blinded by the shock, 
I found that Himilco and one of the helmsmen had dis- 
appeared. Fortunately the helm had not been carried 
away, and by exerting all my strength, I succeeded in 
pushing the tiller round, and bringing the ship back into the 
current of the waves; then confiding the helm to a seaman 
who had just come up, I leaned over the side, and kept 
shouting “ Himilco! Himilco!” 

Day was beginning to dawn, and in the glimmering 
light I could just distinguish Chamai; he had cast himself 
down before the cabin-door, and was imploring the God of 
Israel to spare the lives of the two women, even though it 
should please Him to destroy the lives of all beside. 

Noticing the agitation of my voice, Hanno rushed towards 
me, expressing his alarm that something must have hap- 
pened to our good pilot. I was telling him how much I 
feared that he had been washed overboard, when a voice 
reached me from behind : 


! The god of subterranean fire and of the hammer. Compare Phtah wit 
the Hephaistos of the Grecks. 


108 ‘THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“ All right ; I came down on my head;” and Himilce 
emerged from the hold with a goat-skin in his hands. 

His appearance was a great relief, the more so when he 
explained that he was quite unhurt. 

“The water carried me clean over the hatchway,” he 
said; “and by good luck my head struck against this 
goat-skin in the hold. Strange to say the goat-skin hasn’t 
burst. Praise to the good Cabiri! they have been good 
guardians. But what has become of Cadmus, who was at 
the helm?” 

I could only point mournfully to the sea. Himilco 
seemed to comprehend, but he made no reply, and having 
seated himself upon the poop, began to refresh himself with 
the contents of the goat-skin he had found. 

All of a sudden Bichri came towards me, and said ‘ie 
should like to speak to me. He began: 

“As Iam no sailor, perhaps I ought to apologise for 
giving an opinion, but my eyesight is very keen ; and I am 
certain that I can see mountains over there to the right of 
the poop.” 

Himilco started to his feet; without relinquishing his 
hold upon the skin of wine, with his single eye he steadily 
scanned the horizon in the direction in which Bichri was 
pointing. After a few moments, he said: 

“The archer is right; my eye seldom deceives me; we 
are to leeward of land.” 

Notwithstanding the incessant downpour of rain, I could 
just see enough through the mist to discern that there 
were mountains behind us to the right. Feeling sure that 
we had been driving to the north, I had no doubt in my 
own mind that the land we saw was some promontory on 
the north coast of Crete ; and so ultimately it proved. 

Our first business now was to get clear of the whirlwind, 
and to make for the shore. I signalled to this effect to the 
Cabtros, and doubled the number of the rowers by making 
a soldier as well as a sailor work at every oar. In the 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 109 





next place I inspected the stowage, and was rejoiced to 
find how little it had been displaced. 

In a few hours the wind had almost dropped, and shortly 
afterwards aray of sunlight darting through the clouds, cast 
an enlivening gleam upon our course. 

“The Lord has saved us,” said Chamai; “but I confess 
I was horribly alarmed.” 

Himilco wrung out his drenched kitonet, and proposed 
that, with my permission, he should give Bichri, who had 
been the first to spy out the land, a draught of wine from 
the skin which he still retained. I acknowledged that he 
well deserved it. 

The two women were now induced to come from their 
cabin; although they were still somewhat tremulous 
with their recent fright, they had a bright smile upon their 
faces. 

“Here they are,’ said Hanno, as he escorted them on 
to the deck ; “they are like the weather, half smiles, half 
tears.” 

Chamai declared that he would rather contend with ten 
armed men than with one angry sea ; I told him, however, 
that he had behaved admirably, considering it was his first 
squall, but recommended him to be cautious for the future 
how he spoke irreverently of the gods, 

Emerging from the hold, helmet in one hand, cuirass in 
the other, Hannibal came up to us, saying : 

“T have had such sharp work all night in keeping those 
beggarly rowers up to the mark, that I had no time to look 
to my armour; I expected to find it battered to bits ; but 
thanks to your gods, Ashtoreth or any one you like, it is all 
safe and sound. Happy to see you, ladies; I hope you 
have recovered your fright, and regained your appetites. I 
am hungry enough.” 

And as he caught sight of Himilco and Bichri, enjoying 
themselves over the goat-skih, he hurried off to join them. 

By the afternoon the sun had dispersed the clouds 
entirely, and the deep blue waters shone brightly in 


110 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





contrast with the verdant land from which we were distant 
not more than thirty stadia. I sent the Cadzros on ahead 
to find a suitable place for anchorage, where we might 
rest and repair our damages. Whilst we were sitting on 
the deck of the Ashktoreth, basking in the sunshine, and 
taking a simple repast of dried figs, unleavened bread, and 
raw onions, to our great delight we saw the Dagon coming 
on behind us. She had lost her yard-arm with its sail 
attached, but drifted along by the tempest, she had sur- 











mounted all further perils. Happily we had a good store 
of spare sails to replace what were lost. We came up 
with the Cadiros as she was lying off the head of a high 
promontory, waiting to announce that on the southern 
slope of the headland there was a fine bay, into which a 
river debouched from an open and fertile valley. All 
three vessels accordingly rounded the point, and steering 
to the south, along the coast, by nightfall had reached the 
middle of the bay, whence the shore recedes considerably 


to the east. Here the Dagon and the Ashtorcth were 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 11s 





brought to anchor, and the Cadzros was drawn up on shore. 
The anchorage was very good, and the weather continued 
beautiful ; inland we could see lights gleaming from several 
villages, and thus feeling secure, with light hearts, though 
with weary bodies, we laid ourselves down to rest, and 
slept soundly throughout the night, 


11? THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHAPTER VIL 
CHRYSEIS PREFERS HANNO TO A KING, 


I LOST no time in setting our men to work to restore all 
damages. The cargo had been too well packed to sustain 
any material injury, and I had a selection from various 
bales of merchandise carried out into a field and displayed 
under the shade of a clump of trees. I took Jonah likewise 
on shore, bidding him bring his trumpet. No sooner did 
he feel the dry ground beneath his feet, than he began to 
yell and to jump for joy. 

“Out of. teach here, of the: jaws: of Leviathan!” he 
roared triumphantly. “ Now I am safe. Here on dry land I 
care not what monster I face ; and the sooner the better !” 

I put a check, in some degree, upon his excitement, by 
ordering him to take his trumpet and to sound it as loud 
as he could; andthe noise he made had the effect not only 
of summoning the residents of the neighbouring village, 
but of collecting a considerable number of the shepherds 
who were pasturing their flocks upon the adjacent hills. 
Assured of our peaceful intentions, they all flocked to us 
with perfect confidence, raising as they came the cry of 
“Pheaces! Pheaces!” as an intimation to their companions 
that some Phcenician merchants had arrived. 

The people were all Dorians; tall, well-built men, with 
fair complexions, straight noses, and dark curly hair 
clustering over lofty foreheads. Nearly all of them came 
quite unarmed. Some of them were attired in old kitonets, 
evidently of Phoenician production ; others wore a tasteless 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 113 





imitation of the same, made of coarse cloth of their own 
manufacture. For the most part they were bare-headed, 
the exceptions being the few who wore a kind of flat hat 
of plaited straw. There were some women of the party, 
and these well-nigh all were much to be admired in 
face and form; they were attired in long plain dresses, 
almost as simple as sacks, with openings at the seams te 
allow the head and arms to pass through ; but these were 
covered by short open bodices, coming just below the 





Si Se 
Te eo 


waist, and becomingly slashed on either side. No jewellery 
nor any ornament whatever was to be seen about their 
persons. 

Before my visitors arrived, I took the precaution of 
making an enclosure for my merchandise by driving some 
strong upright stakes into the ground and running a rope 
along from one to another, and told Hanno to make the 
natives understand that they could not be allowed to pass 
the rope. They readily understood him, and appeared to 
be altogether very intelligent, although somewhat reserved 
in their manner. 


114 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





One of their number, who carried a long copper-headed 
staff and wore a cloth band round his head, acted as 
spokesman. He was evidently a sort of chief, and his 
companions waited in silence while we listened to what he 
said. The Dorians appear to be addicted to long speeches, 
and the chief stepped forward, and scarcely raising his eyes, 
made us a formal harangue. Hanno interpreted sufficiently 
well to enable me thoroughly to comprehend the purport 
of his speech. He began by bidding us welcome, and 
proceeded to pay us a variety of compliments, addressing 
us as demi-gods, calling us kinsmen of the tutelary deities 
of our ships, and concluded by asking that he and his 
people might be allowed to inspect the wonderful com- 
modities that we had brought from the divine city of 
Sidon. 

I was already aware that all the tribes that bear in 
common the name of Hellenes are accustomed to regard 
the Phcenicians as being of divine origin. The magnitude 
of our ships, the length of our voyages, the mysterious 
remoteness of our cities, all combine to confirm them in 
their belief, and it was not for our advantage at present to 
undeceive them; the time would come when they would 
be brought into closer relationship with our colonies, and 
they would find out by experience that we were ordinary 
mortals like themselves. Meanwhile they regarded us as 
superior beings, and listened with eager attention to what- 
ever tales we pleased to pour into their ears. 

By my instructions, Hanno informed the chief that we 
had brought with us many strange things from Caucasus, 
the land of giants ; from Cilicia, where the mountains are 
the open mouths of the infernal world and spit out flames 
of fire; from Sidon, the metropolis of the gods; from 
Arabia, the land of the devout, where men live for three 
centuries and more; and from Egypt, where there are 
bull-gods, crocodiles, and serpents two stadia long. I made 
him understand that if his people could bring us ox- 
hides, Chalcidian copper, woven wool, or goats’ horns, we, in 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 115 





exchange, could give them coats, glass beads, perfumes, 
nectar, or nearly anything they liked to ask for; and 
without delay, he despatched a number of the men back to 
the village, to procure such goods as we required. 

“What awful lies!” said Chamai to me, aside, “didn’t 
you tell them that the Midianites are a devout race? And 
didn’t you say that the children of Ishmael live three 
hundred years? And did I hear aright that you should 
say there are gods in Egypt ?” 

I only smiled at this outburst of indignation; but 
Himilco laughed aloud and said: 

“Never mind, Chamai; there may be worse lies than 
these ; they will answer their purpose if they make these 
folks good buyers.” 

The chief had offered to sell me some Pilegech, or young 
female slaves that he had captured in a recent raid upon 
the mainland ; but I declined to make any purchase of the 
kind, knowing that there was no market for women-slaves 
either in our Libyan colonies or in Tarshish. Our word 
“pilegech” he pronounced feller. The Dorians manifestly 
have considerable difficulty in articulating our language ; for 
example, they say “kiton,” for £ztonet ; “kephos,” for koph, 
and “kassiteros,” for £astira. Sometimes, like other savage 
nations, they fail to understand the true meaning of a 
word, and pervert it altogether ; for instance, when speaking 
of the great sea beyond Gades, instead of calling it the 
Sea of Og, they describe it asa river named “ Oceanos,” and 
believe it to be a god. 

The men that had been sent back by the chief soon 
returned with a very fair supply of good copper, ox-hides, 
and goats’ horns, some of which were large enough to make 
good bows. They likewise brought some very excellent 
woollen cloth which they had themselves imported from 
the mainland. For all their goods the prices they demanded 
were singularly moderate. 

It was now necessary, in order to find space and leisure 
for repairing our ships, that the throng of buyers, which 


116 THE ADVENTURES OF CAFTAIN MAGO. 





seemed continually increasing, should be drawn away from 
the neighbourhood of the beach. To effect this, I placed a 
quantity of the merchandise under the charge of Hadlai, 
one of the most trustworthy of the sailors, and sent him 
into the interior of the island to dispose of what he could, 
instructing him to be sure and return to us in eight- 
and-forty hours, by which time I expected to complete 
the repairs. Bichri volunteered to act as an escort; and 
Jonah, with whose trumpet the Dorians seemed immensely 
amused, was sent to summon the natives to the sale. 

In the course of the day I sent eight of my men to cut 
down an oak from the forest on the valley side, to make a 
new yard for the Dagon. The Dorians permitted us to take 
whatever wood we wanted without any charge, deeming it 
a sufficient compensation to themselves to watch our car- 
pentering, and to listen to the wonderful tales of such of 
our sailors as could speak anything oftheirlanguage. They 
were most attentive in bringing us firewood, water, and what 
else we wanted ; and whatever they may be in their bearing 
to other nations, I can testify that to us Phoenicians they 
were most courteous and considerate. 

The Dorians plied Chryseis with countless questions 
about the Pheakes, and made all kinds of inquiries about 
their country, their cities and their king; and she, pleased 
with the sound of a dialect kindred to her own, conversed 
with them willingly, and made them stare with surprise, as 
she recounted the glories of our temples, and the magni- 
ficence of our palaces. They had no clear idea of what 
Phoenicia really was, but imagined it to be an island, 
evidently confounding it with our colony of Chittim, or 
with our settlement at Chalcis, which was considerably 
nearer to them. They almost seem to think Phcenicians 
ubiquitous, for they give the name of Phcenicia to the coast 
of Caria, where our merchants have established some marts. 
This is really the country of the Carian Leleges, who, 
together with the Phrygians, were the Dorians’ predecessors 
in the isle of Crete, and the first to drive the Cydonians to 


& 
THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 117 





the highlands. The Dorians assert that the Leleges and 
Pelasgians preceded them on the mainland, and that many 
of them still remain. I can readily understand that the 
Carians, A£olians, and others, whom we drove from their 
own coasts, succeeded in reaching Crete ; for the Carians 
were not ignorant of navigation, and at that part of the 
Archipelago, where the sea is thickly studded with islands, 
the voyage from the coast of Asia hither, even in small 
boats, would be by no means difficult. It is a fact, too, 
that the principal mountain in Crete is known by the 
Pelasgo-Ionian name of Ida, the same as that borne by 
the mountain in A£olia, opposite the island of Mitylene ; 
the evidence, therefore, is very strong that the Pelasgians 
and Leleges, who were of the same race as the Carians, 
fEolians, Lycians, and Dardanians, must have occupied 
not only the entire coast from the Straits of Thrace down 
to the regions opposite Rhodes, but likewise all the mainland 
and islands between Thrace and Cape Malea. The Cydo- 
nians must be a remnant of some still earlier inhabitants of 
quite another race, driven back, first by the Pelasgians and 
Leleges, and afterwards by the Dorians, Ionians, and those 
others who are now advancing to establish themselves 
alike upon the coast and in the islands. The accuracy of 
this conclusion is borne out by the fact that our ancestors 
were acquainted withthe Pelasgians long before they knew 
anything of Dorians and Ionians, and it is well known that 
there are still in existence cities large and populous, though 
badly built and weakly fortified, such as Plakir and Sculake 
in the Propontis, some distance north of Dardania and the 
isle of Tenedos. 

I enter into all these details because I consider it part 
of the duty of a Phoenician mariner to make himself 
acquainted not only with the configuration of both land 
and sea, the movements of the heavenly bodies, and the 
laws of navigation and of commerce, but also with the 
origin, language, religion, and habits of every nation with 
whom he may be brought in contact ; and my experience in 


@ 
118 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





my naval life has taught me that although the knowledge 
thus acquired is to be very cautiously revealed to strangers 
and foreigners, yet it cannot be too freely disseminated 
amongst one’s own countrymen. 

The Dorians acknowledge themselves to be a people 
akin to the Ionians, and are, like them, a branch of the 
great family known by the name of Hellenes, Reci, or 
Greci. These Hellenes, like the children of Israel, are 
comprised of twelve peoples or tribes; the Thessalians, 
the Bceotians, the Dorians, the Ionians, the Perrhebians, 
the Magnetes, the Locrians, the Eteans, the Achzans, the 
Phocians, the Dolopes, and the Malians. Their own 
account of themselves is, that on reaching the south of 
Thracia they settled in the district known as Hellopia, 
of which they were still in possession, and whence they 
spread themselves over the peninsula and the islands. 
Hellopia is the country traversed by the River Achelous, 
which empties itself into the channel that divides the island 
of Cephallenia from the mainland. The two oldest cities 
in Hellopia are Dodona and Delphi, which are both the 
abodes of the chief gods. It is from the name of their city 
that the Hellenes are sometimes called Dodonians, although 
they are far more frequently referred to by us as the 
Ionians, or sons of Ion or Javan. Amongst themselves, 
however, they are invariably designated Hellenes, Graii, or 
Greci. 

All the Hellenic tribes recognise four special bonds of 
fraternity : first, they are of one common origin; secondly, 
they speak a common tongue; thirdly, they worship the 
same gods, and in the same modes and places; and fourthly, 
they cultivate a general uniformity in manners and dis- 
position. They all send representative chiefs or elders to 
Dodona, and I presume to Delphi also, for the purpose of 
settling any common difference; and there they take a 
threefold oath, never to destroy any city that has ever 
been admitted into covenant with them ; never to intercept 
the supply of water to any city of their fraternity, and 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 119 





always to unite to punish those who should violate their 
pledge. 

Their principal god dwells at Dodona, and is named 
Zeus. They believe him to be the same as the Zeus of the 
Leleges and Pelasgians, whom the Curetes of Crete honour 
with songs and dances. Like Baal Chamaim, he is the god 
of the air and sky, and son of the heaven and the earth. 
He it was who, in the form of a bull, carried off the 
Phrygian goddess Europa to Crete; and on the south of 
the island, in the valley of a little river, Lethe, the Dorians 
have a city which I have never seen, but which they call 
Hellotis, where there is a plane-tree, under which Zeus and 
Europa are said to have reposed. Another town there is 
in the island, named Cnossus, founded, I believe, by the 
Phrygians, where Zeus has one of his places of abode. 

Another deity, almost equally powerful, is Apollo, the 
archer and soothsayer. He is known as the Pythian 
prophet, and dwells at Delphi, where he is consulted about 
future events. He is held in especial veneration by the 
Dorians, whom he is said, under the form of a dolphin, to 
have conducted across the seas. Probably he may be the 
same as our Pheenician archer-god, Baal Chillekh, whom 
we have ourselves taught the Hellenes to worship, and it 
may be that because he taught them navigation, they 
represent him as a dolphin. 

The mysterious Hermes, the god of the hidden forces of 
nature, is likewise an object of their high regard. It is not 
unlikely that they learnt his worship from the Egyptians ; 
but whether it be so or not, it is quite certain that he has 
been known amongst them from a very remote antiquity. 

The Cydonians have made them acquainted with 
Artemis, and we are ourselves leading them to the know- 
ledge of Ashtoreth or Astartec, whom they are gradually 
learning to venerate above all their other divinities. 

Of Beelzebub, Baalpeor, El Adonai, Chemosh, or the 
Cabiri, the Hellenes know nothing. They are absolutely 
ignorant of the position of the Cabiri, and have no con- 


120 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





ception of guiding their course in sailing by the seventh 
Cabiros or Pole-star: to say the truth, they are very 
cowardly sailors, rarely venturing to lose sight of the shore. 
Their boats are large but very badly built, having no decks, 
ill-coatrived rigging, and very defective arrangements for 
ballast ; consequently they are equally unsteady whether 
they are impelled by oars or worked by sails. The people 
have little idea of distance; they are profoundly ignorant 
of the shape of the country, and are at once deterred from 
a voyage by the least stress of weather, or by the most 
insignificant current. 

The towns are built in places that are difficult of access, 
and are rudely fortified with piles of uncemented stones. 
The houses are made either of rough stone, or of bricks 
that have been baked in the sun, and are very little better 
than cabins. The people are not at all skilful in any 
handicraft ; and they can scarcely do more than manu- 
facture their copper lance-heads, hatchets, breast-plates, 
and helmets, which, although very ill-formed, are covered 
with ornaments. They have no cavalry and very few 
archers, and rarely use swords in fighting ; lances are their 
favourite weapons, and these are used by their chiefs either 
on foot or from the top of their chariots. In close combat 
they employ a kind of poignard, which very frequently is 
seen curved at the point into a kind of hook. By way of 
pastime, Hannibal and Chamai occasionally made Hanno 
practise with the sword, and on these occasions they would 
be surrounded by a group of Dorians, who were struck with 
wonder and admiration at the variety of the thrusts, passes, 
and parries of the fencing, as exhibited in the different 
practices of the Chaldeans, the Philistines, and the Israelites, 
and the dexterity they all alike required. 

The shields which they use are round, and made of ox: 
hide, those of the chiefs being faced with copper and 
ornamented with paintings Before we left the island, the 
Dorian king of Hellotis came to visit us, and for one of 
out bucklers of wrought bronze offered me five-and-twenty 


Ktl advg avf OF 
THON Vd DNTGS ads Sk 200 aN Od 


ot CIS aa Rs 
ft ng ng : 
fr, v > peg 
van = WIG 5 


paises 


QR 
ay 








oxen; but I allowed him to have it for some agates, to 
be used in making jewellery, and for an enormous pair of 
boar’s tusks which he had brought from the mainland, and 
which now adorn the temple of Ashtoreth at Sidon. 

On the third day after our arrival in the island, one of 
the sailors, who had been struck by an arrow in the 
Egyptian engagement, died, the wound having gangrened. 
According to our national custom, I had all the ships hung 
with black, and made inquiry of the natives for some 
cavern in the neighbourhood where we could inter the 
body. They showed me a cave in the mountain side about 
thirty stadia distant, and were quite ready in any way to 
assist me, as they are themselves very careful about the 
burial of their dead ; in fact, there is nothing of which they - 
entertain a greater dread than of being deprived of funeral 
rites, and this is one great reason that deters them from 
venturing out far to sea. 

After the corpse had been washed, it was borne to its 
resting-place, a considerable crowd of Dorians following in 
the rear, amongst them a large proportion of women, who 
kept up loud cries of lamentation. The cave in which we 
laid the body was very deep, but by no means lofty ; in it 
we left not only the body, but the planks and the two oars 
which had formed the bier. When the opening had been 
closed by piling up a heap of large and heavy stones, 
Hanno, in a solemn voice, made an invocation to Menath, 
Hokh, and Rhadamath, the judges of the souls in Cheol. 

All these three gods of our nation are known to the 
Dorians, who call them by the names of Minos, Eacus, and 
Rhadamanthus. They bclieve that Minos, previous to his 
appointment as a judge in the infernal regions, was a king 
of Crete, and that, being a skilful navigator, he had sailed 
as far as the mainland to the Ionians, who, by way of 
tribute, gave him a number of boys and girls. With regard 
to Rhadamanthus, they suppose that he was brought to the 
island of Chalcis by the Phoenician demigods ; but the truth 
is, that they have made some strange confusion between 


122 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





the god himself and the Sidonian sailors through whom 
they had become acquainted with his existence. In the 
same way, I believe, that Europa (the goddess who was 
carried off by Zeus) and Ariadne (known first to one of the 
demigods, and then to Dionysus, the god of rivers) are 
nothing more than other names for Ashtoreth, surviving 
from the period when the Pheenicians first imported wine 
to their shores. From us, too, they have derived their 
knowledge of Khousor Phtah, the god of the forge, whom 
they call Phtos or Phaistos; and in short, whatever fami- 
liarity they have either with literature, wine, or with the 
use of metals, all seems to have been derived from the Si- 
donians. As for our own knowledge, that (according to our 
‘ancestors long, long ago) was obtained from the Egyptians, 
and the Egyptians derived theirs from the still more ancient 
Atlantes, who, when the Great Sea was still to the south 
of Libya, came from lands in the West that have since 
passed away, traversing Ethiopia in their course. How 
true it is, that though nation may follow upon nation, the 
gods are immortal ! 

The Dorian people gave us their word of honour that 
the cavern in which we had buried our companion should 
never be desecrated, and we returned to our ships, which 
remained hung with black for the remainder of the day. 

Towards evening Hadlai and his party made their ap- 
pearance, bringing a goodly supply of purchases. Jonah, 
marching along with a consequential air, and encircled by 
a crowd who had followed him down from the mountains 
was carrying a calf upon his back. 

“What are you going to do with that calf?” I asked. 

“Eatcat, *he-saids “TI have eatned it” 

“ How? by blowing your trumpet ?” 

“No; not by blowing my trumpet, but by wrestling: 
they matched their strongest against me, and I levelled 
them all; and so I won my calf. A capital country is 
this! I will knock them over, every one, if only they 
will give me a calf every time,” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 123 





And, catching sight of the King of the Dorians, who had 
come with a herd of oxen, he shouted to him: 

“ Yes, you too; give me a bullock, and I will knock you 
down. Give me two, and I will break every bone in your 
skin.” 

“ Silence, fool!” I cried, hoping to bring him to his 
senses. The King did not understand Phoenician, and 
asked what the man was saying; but I did not think it 
necessary to enlighten him. 

Jonah continued muttering and grumbling to himself: 
“Why should I not fight them, if they like it? If I were 
to challenge a man of the tribe of Dan or Judah, I should 
soon find a knife in my ribs! But here-they like it, and 
give meacalf. Fine country this!” 

That evening the wind blew briskly from the north- 
north-west, but not with violence enough to make us 
hesitate about taking our departure next morning. The 
Dorians were full of surprise at our determination to put to 
sea, and owned that nothing would induce them to face the 
peril of such a wind. 

“Can it really be,” asked one of the chiefs, “that you 
intend to start upon your voyage with this gale in your 
very teeth ?” 

Upon my assuring him that I had fully made up my 
mind, he continued : 

“And that, too, with the recollection so fresh of the 
terrific storm in which you came? Truly, you are demi- 
gods indeed !” 

“ Aye, yes,” I said; “children of Ashtoreth we are; and 
we rode the seas that night in a way that was worthy of 
our fame!” 

“And were not the Cabiri considerate for me?” inter- 
posed Himilco; “the salt sea made me thirsty, and they 
sent me a goat-skin full of luscious wine.” 

Without noticing him, the chief continued: 

“Assuredly the Phoenician deities maintain a careful 
watch to guard their children. I shall not soon forget how 


124 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





I saw their mighty chariot roll above the waves to your 
assistance.” 

It was now Himilco’s turn to look astonished. 

“Chariot upon the waters!” he exclaimed ; “what was it 
like ?” 

“It was high, and round, and parti-coloured, and had 
great sea-monsters drawing it over the raging sea.” 

He spoke with a kind of awe; but it struck me that he 
might perchance have seen Bodmilcar’s gaoul, and that 
the lightning’s glare had given it the variegated effect 
which he had noticed. I suggested this, in an undertone, 
to Himilco, who only said: 

“Tf Bodmilcar were the sea-god, I should like to have 
the chance of getting into the sea-god’s chariot and ringing 
the sea-god’s neck.” 

While we had been talking, I had observed Hamilcar and 
several others closely scrutinising something that the waves 
had cast upon the beach. Curious to see what was interesting 
them, I joined them, and found some fragments of a ship. 

“This is no Phoenician work,” said Hamilcar, pointing to 
a bolt still hanging to one of the planks. 

“No,” I agreed; “and from the thickness of the wood, 
and from the bolts being driven in without wedges, I have 
no doubt that it is an Egyptian craft that has been 
wrecked.” 

“Look here!” cried Himilco; “here is proof positive ; 
the goose’s neck from the prow!” 

“Tt may be,” I said, “that some Egyptians accompanied 
Bodmilcar, and have come to grief in the tempest.” 

“I hope Bodmilcar has not shared their fate,” said Gisgo; 
“drowning is too good for him ; I want him to have a stout 
rope round his neck. And besides, the rascal has three- 
quarters of our merchandise that I should like to get back.” 

‘Rather too much to expect, I am afraid,” I said ; “how 
ever, we must now embark. We are bound for Sicily 
where perhaps you may recover your lost ears.” 

A grim smile passed over the old pilot’s face. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 125 





“Until the wind changes,” I observed, “ we shall have te 
keep on tacking;” and I moved towards the ships. 

At this moment the Dorian King approached me with 
the air of having something important to communicate; he 
broke out abruptly : 

“You are a Pheenician, a ruler of the sea: I ama 
Dorian prince, a ruler of my people: so far we are equal. 
These oxen, these horses, these chariots are all mine; from 
my thirty villages I can summon twelve thousand men. I 
am favoured of the gods. I am mighty.” 

I thought he surely was about to make some demand, 
but a single glance satisfied me that he was not in a position 
to exact anything by force ; not only were Hanno, Chamai, 
Bichri and Jonah still on shore, but Hannibal, too, was 
close at hand, supported by forty of his men, while the 
King was attended only by about a score and a half of 
lancers. I made no reply, but waited for him to proceed. 

“ Ruler of the Phoenicians,” he said, “I want you to sell 
me your pilegech Chryseis: you have only to name your 
own price for the Ionian, and that price is yours,” 

Hanno made a start forward, but I held him back. 

“King of the Dorians!” I said, “ Chryseis is not designed 
for sale. However, she is free to answer for herself. To 
us your kindness and courtesy have been great ; and I am 
ready to consent, in return, to give the maiden up to you. 
But this one condition must be fixed; she must become 
yours by her own free choice.” 

Hanno glanced eagerly at Chryscis, and imploringly at 
me. 

The King advanced to where the girl was standing, and 
proffering his hand, said : 

“Daughter of the Helli! kinswoman of our tribe! come 
and be the Qucen of the Dorians of Hellotis!” 

She stood with her eyes fastened on the ground, but 
nmiade no reply. 

“Zeus and Apollo guide your choice!” continued the 
King, “and inspire your answer! Listen and consent. Ne 


126 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





_~ 


Dorian maid has ever yet made good her hold upon my 
heart, although there is not one who would not be proud to 
be the object of my choice. Honours and luxury await my 
bride. She shall have slaves to surround her, and do her 
weaving, and obey her slightest wish; her table shall be 
spread with the choicest diet, the produce of three hundred 
goats and fifty cows; and her home shall be full of all the 
comforts that wealth can buy.” : 

He waited for her to speak, but still she made no sign. 

“My house,” he went on to plead, “is a house of stone, 
like the Egyptians’, and stored up within it, Chryseis, there 
are chests, in which are necklaces, and pearls, and golden 
bodkins for your hair. All shall be yours, and you shall 
be first ahd noblest of all the women in Crete.” 

Chryseis slowly raised her eyes from the ground, and 
laying her hand upon Hanno’s shoulder, in a firm, deli- 
berate, and yet gentle voice, said: 

“Our holy Zeus has given me to Hanno, and with 
Hanno I shall remain.” 

The Dorian, mortified and excited, literally stamped with _ 
rage. 

“What!” he cried, “prefer a Phoenician subject to a 
king of the Hellenes ?” 

“ A Sidonian scribe,” said Hanno, “is the equal of any 
king on earth. JI own no superior except my captain and 
the gods above.” 

“Though he were the lowliest sailor in the service,’ 
declared Chryseis, “my heart is his. His goddess 
Ashtoreth has delivered me in the hour of peril, and Zeus, 
my god, pronounces that I am his.” 

The Dorian could do no more: in vain he pointed to the 
smiling meadows and the shady forests of the island, and 
contrasted them with the abode upon the raging water of 
an angry sea; Chrysecis maintained that the water had 
charms as many as the land. Unable to prevail with her, 
he made a final appeal to me; but finding me firm in my 
resolve to leave the girl unfettered in her choice, he gave a 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 127 





growl of anger, and without turning his head, remounted 
his chariot and drove rapidly away. 

“Mine, henceforth,” said Hanno to Chryseis, as he led 
her to the ship. “You are as a priestess of Ashtoreth, the 
guardian of us all!” and he drew her closer to his side. 

The sail was soon hoisted, and the rowers settled to their 
seats. Leaving the shore, we made long tacks to get to 
windward, and in five hours had passed the northernmost 
extremity of Crete. In the course of the night we were 
coasting the rocky land upon the north of the lesser Cythera. 

Two days’ safe, though tedious, navigation brought us to 
the mouth of the Achelous, a stream which from the colour 
of its water is known to our sailors as the White River. 
We passed between the fertile and indented shore of the 
mainland, and the islands of Cythera, Zacynthus, and 
Cephallenia. In these navigable waters, where land is 
never out of sight, we perpetually came across Hellenic 
vessels of every size, engaged in a brisk trade not only 
in their own native productions, but also in the manufac- 
tures of the Pheenicians. 

The sea was calm when we reached the mouth of the 
Achelous, but a fresh breeze sprung up from the north-east, 
which was just what we wanted to carry us to the Sicilian 
straits. It is usual, in order to break the length of the 
sea-passage, to follow the Hellenic coast as far as the island 
of Corcyra, but under the present favourable circumstances 
this would have been merely to waste time. We had an 
ample supply both of provisions and of fresh water ; I there- 
fore quite abandoned ail thought of visiting the metropolis of 
the Hellenes, and determined to make with the wind across 
the open sea direct for the southern point of Italy. As 
we were passing along the channel that divides Cephallenia 
from the little island of Ithaca we fell in with a Sidonian 
galley and a couple of gaouls, and hailing them, we found 
that they were on their way home from the mouth of the 
Eridanus on the Iapygian Sea. Bodachmon, the captain of 
the galley, proposed that we should lay-to off Ithaca, so 


128 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





that we might send any commissions by him to Sidon. I 
availed myself of his offer, and went at once on board one 
of his gaouls. His cargo consisted of a small supply of 
gold, both in dust and nuggets, but principally of rock- 
crystal, which the people on the banks of the Eridanus 
obtain from those who reside on the mountains near its 
source. Bodachmon agreed to take some of my heavier 
merchandise for a part of his light freight, and to do any- 
thing he could to assist me after the loss we had sustained 
of our own gaoul through Bodmilcar’s treachery. His 
indignation at Bodmilcar’s conduct knew no bounds. Such 
an act of faithlessness, he said, had never happened within 
his experience ; and he would take good care that not only 
should it come to King Hiram’s ears, but that Bodmilcar 
should be denounced throughout Phoenicia, so that if the 
traitor should attempt to land anywhere either in Phcenicia, 
or in Chittim, or any other of her colonies, he should be 
visited with the punishment he so justly merited. 

“ But now,” said Bodachmon, “let us proceed to business. 
What commodities have you to offer?” 

I answered that I had just obtained goods in Crete, for 
which he would be sure to find a ready market either ir 
Egypt or at home—copper, ox-hides, woollen cloth, and 
enormous goats’ horns; I told him, moreover, that if he 
would visit Crete for himself, he would be able to purchase 
any number of young female slaves at the most reasonable 
rate. 

He said that he thought he should act upon my advice, 
and that he was sure we should be able to make exchanges 
between ourselves which would satisfy us both. He pro- 
ceeded to inquire whether I could let him have any wine, as 
his own supply had been exhausted six months ago, and 
that in his intercourse with the Iapyges and Umbrians he 
had had no opportunity of replenishing it. 

Our own ships were well provisioned, and I was pleased 
to have the opportunity of inviting him with his two mates 
and pilots to come on board the Ashtoreth, and to partake 


























HOMER. 


To face page 129. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 129 





of our fresh meat, onions, dried figs, cheese and wine. They 
all admired the completeness of our arrangements ; and 
Bodachmon made an inspection of the goods that 1 pro- 
posed to barter, telling me that he should be able to pay 
a good price, if I would accept his rock-crystal. 

All of a sudden Bodachmon exclaimed: “By Ashtoreth ! 
I think I can give you a treat in return for your hospitality. 
‘In Corcyra I took up one of the Hellenes, whom I promised © 
if I could that I would land in Crete. He is an old man and 
nearly blind, but he seems to know the history of all the 
world; neither Sanchoniathon, nor Elhanan the Israelite, 
could know it better. He sings the exploits of his country’s 
gods and heroes, accompanying his singing on his lute; he 
has no other means of paying his passage. You shall hear 
him.” 

The venerable bard was sent for, and was soon con- 
ducted on board. He had a dignified bearing, and com- 
manded an involuntary reverence. His long beard was 
very white, and he carried in his hand a lute made of 
tortoise-shell. His name was Homer. 

Addressing us, he said: 

“OQ Pheacians! ye sea-kings, who explore the marvels of 
the earth! may the divine gods protect your ships! My 
eyes are dim; no longer do I discern the meadows with 
their pasturing herds, nor the warriors with their dazzling 
armour; nay, scarce can I perceive the glorious beams of 
day. But the Muses from their blest abode, beside the 
Peneus, have endowed me with the gift of harmony and 
song, so that wherever I may go, I celebrate the achieve- 
ments both of gods and men.” 

I handed the old man a cup of the choicest nectar, and, 
with invigorated spirit, he began to sing his songs. To me 
their meaning was barely intelligible ; but Hanno, familiar 
with the Hellenic tongue, was perfectly enraptured, and 
made the venerable minstrel a present of his mantle, which 
was woven of the finest wool of Helbon, and exquisitely 
embroidered with flowers. 

kK 


130 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Never have I heard anything to be compared with 
this,’ exclaimed the scribe; “in spite of their ignorance 
of trade and navigation, these people cannot be quite the 
barbarians we supposed.” 

Hannibal, who had hitherto looked on in silence, now 
observed : 

“Once, when I was in the city of Our in Naharan, J 
came across an extraordinary man, of whom this wandering’ 
poet reminds me. He was an Egyptian, travelling about, 
and singing songs to his own lute, just like Homer here, 






i Hh i 


) Braet 


Ww 
s 


but he was not so old, and the remarkable thing was that 
he had an ape with him that used to mimic all the events 
about which he sung. Now when Chryseis sings her 
war-songs, it is pleasant to listen, although one does not 
understand a word; her voice is itself a charm. But 
this old minstrcl’s songs are dull; he ought, I think, to 
have an ape with him, to act as an interpreter of what 
he sings.” 

Hanno sneered contemptuously, and said: 

“Hannibal is wonderfully clever. I should fancy ne 
could play the ape’s part to perfection.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 135 





Not discerning the satire, Hannibal replied with the 
greatest gravity : 

“T don’t know about my being more clever than any of 
my people from Arvad ; but I think that if I could under- 
stand the old man’s tongue, I could perform for him better 
than an ape.” 





32 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHAPTER: Vititl, 


AN AFFAIR WITH THE PHOCIANS. 


HAVING entrusted Bodachmon with various commissions, 
and especially with the duty of delivering a letter from 
myself to King Hiram, I took my leave of him and his 
companions. In the afternoon, the breeze being favour- 
able, we resumed our voyage to Italy. In order to pass 
between the islands of Cephallenia and Leucas, it was 
necessary to deviate somewhat to the north, after which we 
should have to steer nearly due east for the south of the 
creat Iapygian gulf. 

The Cadiros was about ten stadia ahead, and conse- 
quently so far in advance that she was lost to sight as she 
rounded the southern cape of Cephallenia; but she had 
hardly disappeared beyond the headland, when it struck 
me that I could hear her trumpet sounding signals of 
wistress. Having sounded an alarm, I put my men in 
readiness for any emergency, and it was well I did so; for 
when we had rounded the promontory far enough to get 
her within view, we saw her not only surrounded by nearly 
twenty large boats of the Hellenes, but the object towards 
which some fifty other boats were making their way with 
the greatest speed. 

The fact was, that while we had been coasting along 
the east of the island the enemy had made their way 
by the west, and thus the Cadiros, rounding the headland, 
had found herself unawares in an ambush, which, with her 
superior sailing power, it would have been quite easy to 





UNAWARES IN AN AMBUSH. 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 133 





escape if there had been any previous warning. As it was, 
she was completely taken by surprise; and her tonnage 
being too light to allow her to carry a copper beak for 
attack, she could only avoid being boarded by the expe- 
dient of rapidly making her way round and round in a 
circle. 

There was not a moment to be lost. The Dagon put on 
all speed and made her way direct towards the promis- 
cuous cluster of boats that was coming up beyond, whilst I 
hastened to secure the rescue of the imperilled Cadzros. 





The antagonists with which the Dagon had to contend 
did not appear to be be of a very formidable character. A 
very cursory glance at the unmartial appearance of most 
of the crews, and at the cargoes, which consisted mainly 
of agricultural produce and implements, made it evident 
that we had come into collision with some convoy of 
emigrants. Hannibal had manifestly come to the same 
conclusion that there was nothing to cause him any alarm 
for I noticed that after having given his mena sign that 
there was no occasion to draw their bows, he made a con- 


134 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





siderable sweep to leeward, and then dashed furiously in 
upon the crowded craft. 

But my more serious attention was demanded in another 
quarter. The adversaries that I had to face were less 
numerous, but far more formidable, being all armed men. 
It was in vain that I hurried forward with all the speed at 
my command ; before I could get within two stadia of the 
Cabiros she was already boarded, and the deck of the gallant 
little ship was becoming the scene of a desperate struggle. 
From the midst of a whirl of lances I could distinguish 
Hamilcar, protecting himself with his shield in one hand, 
and dealing tremendous blows with his sword in the other; 
whilst Gisgo stood with his back supported by the top of 
the poop, and had just raised the battle-axe with which he 
had cloven the skull of one of his assailants. To prevent 
us from rendering any assistance, five or six large boats 
advanced towards us to obstruct our progress, and I could 
hear the shrill voices of the warriors on board chanting 
their exciting war-cry, “Io Poean! Io Poean!” A fine- 
built man, who seemed to be chief in command, was 
standing at the prow of the highest boat; he had a crested 
helmet ; his shield and greaves were faced with copper, 
and he was brandishing his long lance like a maniac. I 
was about to point him out to Bichri, but he, ever on the 
alert, was already upon one knee with his arrow to his bow, 
watching his opportunity, and no sooner were we within 
range than the bowstring was up to his car, the arrow 
whizzed through the air, and the chief, throwing both 
hands aloft, fell head foremost into the water. 

“ Now, men, now’s your time!” I shouted; “down upon 
the savages! Down upon them! Quick!” 

With a tremendous spurt, the Ash/oreth dashed violently 
into the boat, which sank instantly in an eddy of foam, our 
magnificent success setting us at liberty to concentrate 
our attention upon another boat which was harassing us 
on the right. 

In their eagerness to be ready to climb up into our ship 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 135 





the crew of this boat had inconsiderately crowded altogether 
to one side. Knowing the unscientific build of the Hellenic 
boats, and how easily they are overturncd when heavily 
laden, I tacked round suddenly to the opposite side, and 
putting on full speed, capsized it without the slightest 
difficulty. : 

But the need, meanwhile, was becoming more and more 
urgent that we should reach the Cadzros, although she was 
holding out with a vigorous defence. I had to manceuvre 
by taking a long semicircular sweep to get beyond the 
reach of the boats around me, but the delay had its advan- 
tage in giving Hannibal opportunity to arrange his men. 
He very judiciously placed the archers in the stern, and 
divided his remaining force into two companies; one of 
them under his own leadership to be prepared to follow 
him on to the deck of the Cadzros, the other to remain and 
protect their own ship from being boarded. 

About the Dagon I had little or no anxiety. I could see 
that she was not only holding her own, but that by dashing 
backwards and forwards amongst the medley of boats 
around her, she was crushing or sinking all that she came 
athwart, and by discharging volleys of arrows and pots of 
combustibles, she succeeded in distressing the men on 
board to such a degree that we could hear their howlings 
of mingled rage and dismay. 

Hannibal’s instructions to his soldiers were very brief ; 
telling those whom he left behind that they were to obey 
Chamai’s orders, and that he trusted them to do their duty, 
he turned to those under his own command, and said : 

“Soldiers! the fight before you is a fight hand-to-hand ; 
no room for lances! Draw your swords, stand ready at the 
prow !” 

I gave orders to the rowers to pull steadily ahead ; but 
they had scarcely laid themselves out to their work, when 
we fouled two of the boats which had detached themselves 
from the others, and were endeavouring to get alungside 
of us. 


136 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Quick! to the engines!” I cried ; “and, archers, draw 
your bows!” 

In an instant Bichri’s men were at the scorpions, and 
a perfect torrent of stones, arrows, and combustibles, fell 
on either hand. MHannibal’s men did not stir from their 
attitude of readiness, and Chamai kept his detachment 
grouped close around the mast, abiding the time for a 
charge to be ordered. Bichri’s party laid aside their bows, 
and drew their knives and swords; and Jonah, laying his 
trumpet on the deck, armed himself with the ponderous 
handspike usually employed for heaving the anchor, and 
which two ordinary men could scarcely carry. 

“Come on, Dodanim !” he shouted ; “if you can afford a 
calf for a little shaking, perhaps you will pay better still if 
I lay this rod across your shoulders. I should like a few 
bullocks and a good skin of wine. I am quite ready to 
begin pounding away, like Samson at the mill.” 

The time for action had come, and I gave the word of 
command to push ahead, straight at the foe. A dash and 
a crash! and cries of mingled wrath and consternation rose 
from beneath our prow as it made its way in a vortex of 
foam. We rushed past the first boat, leaving it hopelessly 
far astern; we disabled a second that was designing an 
attack upon our starboard, and we capsized a third that 
was coming on our left; and when our men drew breath 
after their paroxysm of exertion we were within half a 
bowshot of the Cadbiros. So close we were, that I could 
see Hamilcar with his head all bleeding, and Gisgo, with 
dishevelled hair, laying about him desperately with his 
hatchet, whilst a dozen sailors who had retreated to the 
stern, were making a vain effort to repel the invaders, who 
continued to make their way on board. 

“Help! Mago, help!’’ shouted Hamilcar, imploringly, 
as he saw us drawing near. 

“Cheer up, mate!” I replied; “we shall soon be with 
you.” 

I made a rapid survey of our position, and having 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 137 





instructed the helmsman to bear up hard to starboard, I 
called to the oarsmen : 

“ Now, men, once again, a good strong pull with might 
and main; then ship vour oars, and we shall be right 
alongside!” 

So vehemently did they put forth their strength that our 
prow was lifted high above the flood, and the impetus given 
to our speed was so great that another of the opposing 
boats was cut clean in two. In another minute we had 
gained the side of the Cadzros. Hannibal seized a rope 
and sprang upon the deck ; and followed by his men was 
quickly in the midst of the mortal struggle. 

I had no time to watch the issue of their intrepid venture. 
They had hardly left our deck when I was startled by the 
urgent voice of Hanno: 

“Look, captain! they have us now!” 

And turning round I was face to face with a throng of 
the Hellenes, who had not only brought their boats into 
close quarters with the Ashtoreth, but had forced their way 
on to her stern. Into the breast of the foremost man, who 
was rushing towards me with uplifted lance, I thrust my 
sword well-nigh to its hilt; and Hanno showed how well 
he had profited by the fencing lessons he had had on 
board ; he parried a blow with his left hand, and almost in 
the same instant felled an opponent by driving his weapon 
into his shoulder with his right. Sometimes bending him- 
self down, sometimes rearing himself to his fullest height, 
Chamai wielded his sword with the most extraordinary 
dexterity : three men set upon him at once; one of them 
soon reeled and fell heavily at his feet ; a second, grasping 
his sides in agony, was seen to stagger back amongst his 
comrades; whilst the other, putting his head between his 
hands, cowered down to the ground, the blood trickling 
through his fingers. 

Bichri also, single-handed, had to engage quite a little 
group of antagonists. It seemed a desperate fray ; but, 
strange to tell, hc got the better of them all, and retired 


138 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





triumphant, his blood-stained sword in one hand, his dagget 
in the other. Nor did good fortune fail Himilco; closely 
pressed as he was by his adversary, he succeeded in catch- 
ing him by the throat, and, holding him back firmly 
against the mast, he thrust his sword into his heart. 

But for rendering effective service no one surpassed the 
redoubtable Jonah. Such wholesale slaughter was never 
seen. Skulls were fractured ; limbs smashed ; ribs broken 
in ; back-bones, breast-bones, collar-bones, shoulder-blades 
contused, crushed, splintered, as the ponderous handspike, 
‘swinging backwards, forwards, upwards, downwards, made 
the very air reverberate. 

“Room, I want! give me room!” roared the giant, as he 
brandished his enormous weapon; “bring me_ bullocks, 
sheep, calves, cakes, wine, anything, and I'll earn my 
dinner honestly.” And striking out more furiously than 
ever he roared again, “ Room, room! elbow-room, I say!” 

Three or four of the Hellenes now made a simultaneous 
attack upon myself. I succeeded in slashing the face of 
- one of them who had knocked my shield out of my hand 
with his lance, but in a moment I felt myself grasped 
round the throat by another, who forced me backward, 
and was about to cut off my head with his scimitar, when 
Hanno caught him by the wrist and plunged his sword 
beneath his armpit. The two of them came down heavily 
upon me, and we were all three rolling on the deck 
together; a third man darted forward, and I could see the 
gleam of a lance as it pointed to Hanno’s breast, when 
Chamai rushed to the rescue, and dealing a powerful blow, 
sent the fellow staggering back. Hanno rose, and placing 
his foot upon the dead man’s neck found it taxed all his 
strength to withdraw the sword with which he had slain 
him. As I regained my footing, I caught sight of Chryseis 
standing near her cabin-door; her hands were tightly 
clasped, and her face was deadly ile, but she had not lost 
her self-command. Abigail was close beside her; like a 
true dauchter of Judah, she had seized a sword which she 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 139 





was pointing defiantly against a soldier who had lost his 
lance, and who, as though scared at being challenged by a 
woman, was cowering behind his shield. 

Chamat’s keen eye soon discerned what was passing, 
and followed by Hanno, he rushed like a wild bull through 
the crush, knocking down friends and foes alike, as he 
made his way to the protection of the women. 

Meanwhile Himilco and fifteen of the sailors, cutlass and 
hatchet in hand, forced their way along and grouped them- 
selves close to me. Telling them that now was their 
chance, I led them forwards and succeeded in effectually 
clearing the whole fore-ship, the Hellenes stumbling over 
ropes and rigging in their precipitous retreat. On reaching 
the prow I turned, to make the reassuring discovery that 
Hanno and Chamai had been equally successful in clearing 
the stern, and that they were closing in towards Bichri 
and his men at the mast, where they were engaged in 
repelling a fresh contingent of the enemy. Above the 
mass of heads and shields I could see Jonah’s handspike 
swinging to and fro, and above the confusion of cries and 
yells I could hear his sonorous shout of defiance: 

“Come on, Dodanim! I am your man. Let me earn 
my dinner. Come on! Come on!” 

With such determination did Bichri and his supporters 
beat back the assailants, that ere long the middle deck was 
as clear as prow and stern, and there rose a frantic cheer 
of triumph. The Ashforeth was free from her enemics. 

The cry of success was followed by a shout of welcome 
to the Dagon, which at that moment came dashing up at 
a prodigious speed, sinking a boat as it approached, and 
discharging a volley of arrows amongst the boats that still 
persevered in hanging around us. 

I now signalled to my helmsman to hold himself ready, 
and sent my rowers down the hatchways to their oars ; 
they found some Hellcenes skulking in the hold, but they 
soon despatched them; and it was the work of only a few 
minutes to get clear of the remnant of the attacking boats, 


140 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





and to bring the Ashktoreth sharply round until she was in 
a position on one side of the Cadzros corresponding with 
that of the Dagoz on the other. Hannibal had returned to 
us, and gave us whatever assistance was in his power. Yet 
another boat was sunk; and the crews of two more, over- 
whelmed in terror, leaped overboard and swam after the 
fugitives, who, under a shower of arrows, were making their 
way off. 

No longer called upon to act upon the defensive, we next 
turned our attention to the main company of the convoys, 
of which three already had been abandoned by their 
crews and were drifting helplessly on the waves. As we 
were steering towards them, I chanced to look astern, and 
to my surprise I found that the boat we had in tow was 
crowded with armed men, who had evidently got into it 
with the design of boarding us, and had not been able 
to make their escape with their comrades. I made Bichri 
come on to the poop with a party of his bowmen, and he 
succeeded in hitting one of the Hellenes in the shoulder 
just as he was about to sever the tow-rope with his 
scimitar. 

“Lay down your arms!” I shouted in Ionian. 

But the man was not daunted. He renewed his effort 
to cut the rope asunder, an attempt in which he was foiled 
by receiving a second arrow in his throat. 

“ Shall we shoot them all ?” asked Bichri. 

“No; wait a bit!” I said; “they look sturdy fellows, 
and ought to fetch a good price at Carthage ; we may as 
well do an extra stroke of business.” 

Again I called to them to lay down their arms and to 
surrender, but they made no sign of submission. One of 
them hurled his lance at me, just grazing my shoulder ; but 
another, apparently convinced that the case was desperate, 
jumped overboard, and as we were a long distance out at 
sea, was probably drowned. 

Fifteen men still remained, and I made Hanno and 
Chryseis bespeak their attention in their own languag-s 








ah 











a; 


HANNO AND CHRYSEIS BESPEAK THEIR ATTENTIO 


_ 


: ) 
ie) oe 
ae 


Dole ae a yc 
eit, rk e 
5) tad) At et 
Sea ee 
‘ 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 14i 





and thus succeeded in bringing them to terms. Hanno, by 
my instruction, promised them that their lives should be 
spared, and that they should be conveyed to a land where 
they might earn good pay as soldiers of a king, and have 
vood treatment besides. After a while they yielded, and 
laid down their arms, which were immediately hauled up 
on deck ; and then a rope was thrown down, and one by 
one the men, crestfallen and agitated, climbed on board. 

The remainder of our assailants were now flying in com- 
plete disorder. Night was coming on, and to them a voyage 
in the darkness was scarcely less terrible than a second 
battle. Although some of the boats were quite uninjured, 
we could see that several of them had sustained so much 
damage that they could hardly make any progress, and 
that more than one had been set on fire by the combustibles 
discharged by the Dagon. [From the distant shore we 
could hear the lamentations of the women bewailing the 
fate of the drowned and slain. 

Hamilcar and Hasdrubal obtained my leave to go in 
pursuit of the fugitives, and I told off thirty men under 
-Bichri and Chamai to go with them. While they were 
absent I sent some men to take in tew the two boats that 
had been abandoned by their crews, and found that they 
contained a number of dead bodies, the whole of which I 
had stripped and thrown into the sea. The two ships 
returned very shortly, bringing three prizes and twenty-two 
prisoners, 

I deferred making any detailed examination of the spoils 
until the morrow, and tired as we were, I should have 
been glad of repose for myself and my men; but it was 
absolutely necessary that we should at once wash the 
decks, collect the scattered armour, and do something to 
repair the disorder inevitable after so hard a_ conflict. 
The corpses of the Hcllenes who had been killed and 
about twelve of the wounded were thrown overboard. Of 
our own men, twenty-three had been wounded and eleven 
killed ; the bodies of these were wrapped in cloth and laid 


142 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





side by side on the fore-deck, that they might be com: 
mitted to the sea in the morning, with the rites and 
invocations of their religion. 

As the Dagon had sustained less injury than any of our 
ships, I had all the captives, including my own fifteen, sent 
on board her and fastened securely in the hold. 

Our losses were very serious. The Cadiros had eight 
killed and ten wounded; the Dagon, three killed and 
seven wounded ; making, with the casualties on my own 
ship, a total of twenty-three dead, and forty wounded. 
Here was a melancholy proof that we had been matched 
with no mean opponents; and to confess the truth, their 
courage and energy were such, that if they had had any 
practical notion of naval tactics, and if their boats had been 
more manageable, and their weapons not so ill-adapted for 
this character of warfare, our chances of success would have 
been very small. 

Both Hamilcar and Gisgo had sustained serious though 
by no means dangerous wounds. Hanno had a gash 
across his shoulder, Chamai a lance-cut in the arm, and 
Himilco a large bruise on the head, but neither of the three 
was incapacitated from going on with his accustomed 
duty. Our senior seaman, Hadlai, was among the killed. 
Jonah had five lance-wounds, which he regarded as mere 
scratches ; and after he had smeared himself all over with 
ointment, he declared that the day’s proceedings had not 
only given him a tremendous appetite, but had made him 
desperately thirsty. 

It was impossible accurately to estimate the losses of 
the Hellenes; but they must have amounted to several 
hundred ; thirty-six dead bodies had been found lying on 
the deck of the Ashforeth alone, and the Cadiros had 
thrown overboard thirty-eight more. 

We contrived to get some brief repose before morning, 
but it was still quite early when under a fair east wind we 
started again on our way to Italy. The eight prizes were 
all taken in tow, and in order to make our progress more 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 143 





easy I sent a few men into each of them, either to put up 
a sail or to work them with oars. 

Our ships were hung with black in honour of the 
dead, and the usual invocations were made to the gods of 
the departed. There were several bullocks amongst the 
booty we had captured, and I ordered one of them to be 
hoisted upon each vessel and slain for a sacrifice. On 
board the Ashtoreth, Hanno recited the prescribed petitions 
to the goddess, and after the slaughter of our beast, the fat 
and a portion of the flesh were set apart to be smoked and 
dried, the rest being allotted to the funeral feast. The 
children of Israel, meanwhile, after their own fashion, were 
sacrificing a sheep to their God, El-Adonai. As soon as 
the sacrifices were finished, I made a distribution of wine ; 
but before this was allowed to be tasted, the trumpets were 
sounded, and the bodies of the dead solemnly committed 
to the deep. The black hangings were then removed ; and 
we gathered together for the general repast. Every one’s 
spirits revived under the influence of food and drink. 
Weariness and wounds were soon forgotten, and the men, 
one to the other, were cheerfully recounting their own ex- 
periences of the fight. 

“ Hannibal,” I said, “you, as captain of the guard, and 
your men under you, have acquitted yourselves admirably 
and, according to the covenants of the charter-party, you 
are entitled to a share of the spoil.” 

“For my part,” said Hannibal, “I am quite ready to give 
up all further claim if I can only have a new set of armour ; 
my cuirass is terribly battered about, and my helmet has 
lost both crest and plume. I have no doubt there is a good 
suit of Lydian armour on board ; let me have that and I 
shall ask no more.” 

“With all my heart!” I answered: “and in addition ] 
shall give you a flask of fine Sareptan wine.” 

“ Aye, a good thought!” said Himilco ; “I, also, shall be 
only too happy to dispose of my claim for three skins of 
Berytos,” 


144 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Chamai maintained that he must be entitled at least to 
a bracelet and a pair of Syrian earrings. “Give them 
to Abigail,” he said, “and I will cry quits for my share.” 

“ And now, sir scribe,” I asked, turning to Hanno, “what 
shall I do for you? There are sheep, oxen, armour, wines 
at your command.” 

“ By Ashtoreth!” he answered ; “there is nothing I want. 
Take my portion and distribute it amongst the wounded ; 
they need it more than I.” 

Struck by this generosity, Hannibal and Chamai shook 
him heartily by the hand, and Chryseis showed her approval 
by the most beaming of smiles. 

One of the pilots came to me, as a deputation from the 
crew, and requested that I would sell the whole booty in a 
lump at the first opportunity, and let them have their shares 
in money: meanwhile they hoped that I should not object 
to make them an advance of what they might expect. The 
fact was that the men knew that Phoenician coin was 
current at Utica, Carthage and Gades, and reckoned upon 
going ashore and enjoying themsclves at all these ports. 
I saw no reason for refusing the men what they wanted, 
and accordingly instructed Hanno to draw up a list of all 
the plunder, to every article of which I appended the price 
in shekels which I was willing to pay for it. The priced 
catalogue was affixed to the mast of each ship for the 
sailors’ inspection, and as it gave universal satisfaction, I 
paid them the amount to which they were severally entitled 
that very evening. 

Chryseis and Abigail spent the night in administering to 
the wants of the wounded. 

Next morning, I sent for the prisoners. They had some 
rations served out to them, and were brought from the 
Dagon to the Ashtoreth, looking downhearted and full of 
mistrust. I enlisted the services of Hanno as interpreter, 
and having selected the most intelligent-looking of the 
group, had him questioned as to his nationality and his 
home. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 145 





“We are Hellenes,” he said, “of the tribe of the Phocians, 
We have no regular home, but we have been in the country 
round Mount Parnassus. We left our haunts there at the 
bidding of Apollo, who told us to depart, and to seek for 
other settlements. With our wives and children we were 
on our way to join our kinsmen, the Ionians, either in 
Epirus or in Corcyra. We were hoping there to find a 
happy and a settled residence.” 

Great tears stood in his eyes, and his companions in 





adversity could not suppress their sobs. I assured him 
that it was far from my wish to aggravate their misery, 
and that I really pitied them in their misfortune, so that 
they need not fear any harsh treatment at my hands. 

“Tf we had becn meeting you in regular warfare,” he 
continued, “we should have fought on to the very death, 
and would have borne disaster and defeat without a mur- 
mur; but now who shall blame us, if we weep for out 
wives and dear ones perished in the waves ?” 

“But why, then, did you attack us?” I inquired 

L 


146 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





” 


“Listen, and you shall hear,” he answered: “three 
days ago, we fell in with a great Phoenician ship; it was 
not alone, but was accompanied by several others. The 
captain hailed us and asked us to sell him some provisions: 
regarding the Phcenicians as all divine, we were all most 
ready to oblige them; we sent them oxen, fruit and corn; 
my own poor son and many others went besides ; but no 
sooner had they got the supplies on board, than the pirates 
hoisted sail and made away. We had no remedy ; there 
was no hope of recovering our people or our property ; our 
boats cannot compete with yours in speed. In our fury we 
swore that we would be avenged, and vowed we would 
attack the first Phoenicians we should see. You were the 
first. Now you know all.” 

“Bodmilcar! by all the gods!” ejaculated Himilco. 
“Tt is Bodmilcar that has involved us in this trouble. To 
him we owe the death of our brave Hadlai, and the loss 
of all our men! Ten thousand curses on him! Moloch’s 
bitterest curse be on his head!” 

Anxious to learn whether this suspicion was well founded, 
I made inquiry as to what the Phcenician ship was like, 
and not only ascertained that it was large and round and 
high, but that the men on board were quite different to 
the men upon the smaller boats, who had brown faces, and 
wore dresses of another shape. These boats, too, carried 
the figure of a goose’s head at every prow. 

“The Melkarth and the Egyptians beyond a doubt!” I 
cried. 

The Phocian looked astonished at my agitation. 

I soon recovered my composure, and asked whether 
there were any men amongst the captives upon whose 
courage and discretion he could rely. He informed me 
that his own brother was one, and that five of the others 
were his cousins ; he added, moreover, that the wife of one 
of the cousins had been carried off on board the Phoenician 
ship. 

“Call them forward!” I said; and in a few minutes 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 14? 





six young men, all apparently strong and active, stood 
before me. 

“You would like to see your son again?” 

“My son!” echoed the man. “ Restore my son, and you 
shall be counted divine indeed.” 

I informed him that the Phoenician who had borne him 


off was my avowed and mortal enemy. “But serve me 
with fidelity,” I added, “and you may recover your son 
even yet.” 


Turning to Hannibal, I ordered him to provide the seven 
men with kitonets and arms, and totake them into his own 
force ; the remainder I sent to assist the rowers. It would 
be easy, I knew, to dispose of them all at Utica or Carthage, 
where there is a constant demand both for oarsmen and for 
mercenaries. 

The seven Phocians kissed my hands, and wept for joy : 
the remainder went below with lighter hearts than they 
had brought on board, 


148 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





GHAR DE REX. 


THE LAND OF OXEN. 


On the third morning after the battle we sighted the 
mountains of Italy,’ and having entered the gulf? along 
the north of which extends the Iapygian Peninsula, we soon 
came to the mouth of a river that meandered along a fine 
plain, in which the broad pastures were diversified by 
groves of pines and oleanders. Inland, about a hundred 
stadia from the shore, rose a range of grey mountains, 
partially wooded, and crowned by a ridge of ragged peaks. 
The anchorage was tolerably good, and as we required 
fresh water and provender for the cattle, I determined to 
lay to at once. I had all the animals sent on shore. This 
was a work of some difficulty ; Bichri with a few armed 
men was put in charge of them, and he was to employ the 
prisoners to drive them where they could find proper 
pasturage ; my intention in doing this was that the animals 
should follow the ships along the coast as far as the Sicilian 
Straits, where, unless I succeeded meanwhile in disposing of 
them, they should be re-embarked. 

“Not much chance of selling them here,” said Himilco ; 
“we are in Vitalia, the land of oxen. If we could have 
brought them some goats now, like those we let the Ionians 
have, we might have found a market. Of cattle such as 
these they have more than enough already.” 

“Probably so,” I answered ; “but first of all we must 
find some inhabited spot amidst all this desolation; we 


* Italia, from itaAés, urlulus. * South of the Adriatic. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 149 





must try and meet with some of these Italians or Vitalians, 
whichever they are called. There must be some Iapygians 
here too in the south, as well as in the north. Do you 
know the Iapygian dialect ?” 

Himilco said that, although he was not acquainted with 
that dialect, he had some knowlcdge of the language of the 
Vitalians, as well as of that which was spoken by the Opsci, 
the Marsians, the Volscians, the Samnites, the Umbrians, 
the Sabellians of the eastern coast, and the Latins of the 





western. He mentioncd also that Gisgo was tolerably 
familiar with the tongue of the Rasennz, away to che 
north-west. 


The spokesman of my seven Phocian prisoners now 
approached me somewhat timidly, as if he had something 
to ask. His name was Aminocles. He began bv ad- 
dressing me: 

Hhine onthe Picenicianst” 

I stopped him and told him that my proper appellation 
was not king but captain. 


150 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Captain of the Pheenicians,” he said; “will you please 
to tell me what country we are in?” 

“Italy,” I answered ; “ Italy, the land of herds.” 

“ But in what part of it?” he asked. 

“Tn that part,” I replied, “which is inhabited by various 
tribes of Vitalians ; south and north-east dwell the Iapy- 
gians ; far away to the north are the Rasennz, who build 
great cities, and have a king in the fertile vales beyond 
the mountains.” 

“We know nothing of them,” said Aminocles, 

“Patience!” interposed Himilco; “perhaps we can 
refresh his memory. Phocian, listen to me. Have you 
ever heard of Opsci ?” ; 

“Of Opici ? yes,” he answered ; “our ancestors have left 
it upon record that long ages back, before we built Dodona, 
nay, before we settled by the Achelous, while we still were 
dwelling in the cold regions beyond Thrace, we were in 
association with a people called the Opici. At that time 
mainland and islands both were inhabited by Leleges, 
Pelasgians, giants, dwarfs, and monsters; but the gods 
slew them all and made way for us. If your Opsci are the 
same as those Opici, I suppose I ought to have heard of 
them before.” 

“Tt is of no use perplexing the man,” I said; “you see 
he does not understand you.” 

“Wait a bit,” Himilco remonstrated ; “perhaps I shall 
succeed even yet. Tell me, Aminocles, did you ever hear 
of Tyrsenians ?” 

“No,” said the Phocian. 

“Strange!” muttered Himilco to himself. “Again and 
again I have heard the Hellenes speak of Vitalia, and call 
the natives Tyrsenians or Tyrrhenians; I must try again. 
Do you know the Siculians, the Cyclopes, the Leestri- 
gonians ?” he asked aloud. 

The man’s countenance changed in an instant. 

“What! do you mean”—he exclaimed, in a voice 


TILE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 151 





agitated with alarm—‘“that we have come to the land of 
such people as those ?” 

“ Aye, that we have,” said Himilco, with a chuckle of 
satisfaction; “this is the country of the Loestrigonians ; 
and down there is the island of the Cyclopes, the Siculians, 
and all the rest of them. We are going to pay them 
a visit, when we have steered safely between Scylla and 
Charybdis.” 

And he laughed outright when he heard Aminocles, 
wringing his hands, groan out: 

“Oh! better, better far to have perished in the fight 
than to have come to this land of monsters. Oh!” 

We all laughed. The ridiculousness of the fellow’s terror 
was irresistible. 

“Silence, simpleton!” I said; “the Leestrigonians will 
not hurt you; we shall see plenty of them, but they 
will not eat you up.” 

While I was speaking, my attention was directed by the 
man on watch to a party of about fifty men, who were 
advancing across the plain. Their attitude was far from 
confident, and they halted on the edge of a wood, appa- 
rently in indecision whether they would come on or 
retreat. At length I took upon myself to encourage them - 
to come forward, and, according to my custom, went alone 
towards them, making them every sign of good-will. Pre- 
sently two of them advanced to meet me. They were 
stout, thick-set men, square-shouldered, and of middle 
height ; they had light complexions, thick beards, and 
frizzly hair, that overhung low brows and wide faces. 
Their legs and arms were quite bare, and their heads 
uncovered, but they wore a kind of coarse woollen kitonet, 
with another loose garment thrown crosswise over one 
shoulder. They were all well armed, having two short 
copper-headed lances and a poignard; most of them 
carried knives or swords in their girdles, and about a 
dozen had slings or bows. 


I§2 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





One of the two who had come on in advance shouted in 
Italian : 

“ Who are you? and what have you come for?” 

Himilco, who had followed me, shouted back in the same 
language that we were merchants who had come from dis- 
tant lands, and that we wanted to open a trade with them. 

“But are you not Rasennez ? and is it not your design 
to rob us our cattle ?” 

“ Nothing of the sort,” we answered ; “we are Phoenicians 
from the east. Come down to the shore, and you shall see 
our merchandise.” 

Both the men retired to their comrades, and appeared 
to deliberate; but very shortly they returned, and one of 
them called out : 

“You see these two trees on each side of me; these 
must be our boundary.” 

And, driving his lance firmly into the ground midway 
between them, he continued : 

“Tf you advance one step beyond this lance, I take it 
up, and we declare ourselves your foes.” 

Hlimilco repeated his assurance that we had no wish to 
do them the slightest injury, and they came up close 
to where we were. The leader told us that they were 
Sabelline Samnites, and that they wanted to know what 
payment we were going to make them for the pasturage 
of our cattle. I made Himilco satisfy them that they 
should have a proper remuneration. 

It was now my turn to erect a barrier. This I did by 
driving stakes into the earth, and stretching a cord across, 
beyond which I made the Samnites understand that I 
should not permit them to pass. They raised no objection 
to my measure of precaution, but crowded up to inspect 
our goods, their curiosity meanwhile extending to our 
ships, ourselves, and our costume. They were rougher 
in manners than the Hellenes, and more suspicious, and 
I had some trouble in inducing them to negotiate with us 


7 _, ee 
2 nt Baye lide 
No <* See eS 





” 


‘SIF YOU ADVANCE ONE STEP BEYOND THIS LANCE. 


Lo face page 152, 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 153 





at all; but after a time I succeeded in securing their 
confidence to a certain degree, and they informed me that 
they were not an agricultural people, and had no cereals 
nor vegetables to bring us, but could supply us with any 
number of sheep and oxen. They subsequently brought 
several half-wild pigs, which particularly attracted the at- 
tention of Chamai and Bichri, neither of whom had seen 
animals of the kind before. Not understanding the art of 
making bread, the Samnites ordinarily eat a kind of pulp 
called “masa ;” but, as they had on previous visits of other 
Pheenicians tasted some loaves, they were now very anxious 
to be shown how to make them; they made a number of 
inquiries likewise about our wine, but for this they did not 
seem to care to the same extent as the Hellenes. 

Next morning they came to us again in considerable 
numbers. I had observed that during the night they 
had lighted a good many beacon-fires over the land, 
and naturally conjectured that they were signalling for a 
gathering of their countrymen, and [I accordingly doubled 
my ordinary guard. I soon found, however, that there 
was no cause for alarm, and that they had no hostile 
intentions ; on the contrary, they were quite content to 
follow my injunctions that they should not approach our 
boundary line in groups of more than fifty; they awaited 
their turn with the utmost patience, and altogether were 
far less noisy and demonstrative than we had found the 
Dorians. 

Amongst other things they brought a great quantity of 
coral, which after rough weather is washed up on their 
coasts, but which they also procure by diving from 
frail rafts of their own construction; for although they 
are very indifferent navigators, they are for the most part 
excellent swimmers. The most expert coral-divers are the 
Iapygians, those who dwell amongst the Samnites and the 
Bretians, as well as the natives of Iapygia proper. Some 
few of them were to be noticed amongst our Samnite 
visitors ; they were gencrally tall and wore no beards; they 


154 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





had round heads and brown skins, being in many respects 
very like the Cydonians: in their manners they were more 
polished and in their conversation more communicative 
than the other Italians. They seemed to me to bear a 
marked resemblance to the Siculians; and I cannot help 
thinking that the Iapygians, the Siculians, the Cydonians, 
and the natives discovered by our forefathers in Malta, are 
the aborigines of their respective countries. Afterwards, 
from the coast of Asia came the Leleges and the Pelasgians 
(tribes that bear a strong likeness to the Lydians, Lycians, 
and Carians), and these settled in Dodanim and the isles, 
being succeeded by the Hellenes and Italians, who came 
southward from the confines of Thrace. Of the origin of 
the Rasenne I am perfectly ignorant: all I know is that 
Phoenicians who have visited the mountains whence the 
rock-crystal is obtained, and which lie north of the Eri- 
danus, at the head of the Iapygian Gulf, have reported 
that they have fallen in with a people who call themselves 
Rheoetians, and who speak a language in many respects 
identical with that spoken by the Rasenne. 

Two days were spent in bartering my cumbersome booty 
for coral, which could be compactly stored away. As the 
captured boats were emptied, I had all but two of them 
broken up. I reserved only the planking, which was sure 
to be useful, and the masts, which might be of service 
if we should require extra spars. After the spoil had 
been all exchanged away, I commenced paying for what - 
I purchased with glass-beads, lance-heads, and sword- 
blades; the last of these articles were so eagerly coveted, 
that for four blades, worth about a shekel a-piece, I ob- 
tained at least four hundred shekels’ worth of the finest 
coral. When I expressed my surprise at the quantity of 
coral in their possession, they explained that it was the 
accumulation of a very long time, adding that they had 
intended disposing of it at one of the emporiums which 
the Phoenicians had established on the western coast, but 
that our arrival had saved them the trouble of the journey 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 155 





They told me that they should have been glad if I could 
supply them with goats, and stated that those which had 
been brought over by our countrymen, and purchased by 
the Marsians and Volscians, were rapidly spreading in the 
mountains of the north. 

The Samnites have no regular towns, but live in smalh 
scattered hamlets, consisting generally of a few thatched 
huts built of boughs of trees cemented with mud. They 
have very little notion of agriculture, and the Latins of the 
west coast (especially those of the valley of the Tiber) are 
far superior husbandmen; the Latins, however, have a city 
named Alba, occupying a secure position between a 
mountain and a lake. Along the coast I know only of 
a single sea-port, and that belongs to the Rasenne, and is 
named Populonia. These Rasenne are no contemptible 
sailors; that they were bold and unscrupulous pirates, 
I had long known by hearsay, but here on the Samnite 
coast I was destined to have a confirmation of the fact 
from my own experience. 

Having completed all the business that was practicable, 
I was preparing to renew our voyage, when one of the 
Samnites came running up to his associates, and shouted 
something which appeared to throw them into a state of 
great excitement. 

“What ails the fellows?” said Himilco; “they seem 
going mad. Is the cock-head Nergal at their heels ?” 

The commotion was soon explained. 

“ Pirates! Pirates!” shouted a number of the Samnites 
in a breath. “ Quick, Phoenicians, on your guard! The 
Tyrrhenians are coming! They are rounding the point! 
they will be on us directly! Away! Away to the 
mountains !” 

Without losing a minute, I made Jonah sound an alarm 
and summon our men to their ships. Hannibal donned 
his helmet and marshalled his men, including the scven 
Phocians ; the overlooker of the rowers, scourge in hand, 
hurricd the oarsmen to their benches, and in a short time 


156 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





we were three stadia from the shore and ready for action. 
Chamai congratulated himself that although his right arm 
was disabled he was still capable of doing good execution 
with his left. 

“What new friends are we to have the pleasure of 
seeing to-day ?” asked Bichri, with a smile, as he fastened 
on his quiver and strung his bow. 

I told him that they were Tyrrhenians, or Rasenne, 
from the north-west of Italy, who traded a little, but did a 
good deal more in the way of privateering along the coast ; 
and that, although I was not aware of their having ever 
hitherto come into collision with Phcenicians, I had very 
little doubt they carried freight enough to make it worth 
our while to risk an engagement with them. 

“Yes, they are new to me,” said Hannibal; “and perhaps 
we can give them some new lessons in the art of fighting ; 
they may like a taste of the Chaldean mace that King 
David gave me.” 

Anxious to understand the true position of things, I 
sent the Cadzros ahead to reconnoitre, ordering her to keep 
as close as possible to the shore until she reached the 
extremity of the headland, whence she could command 
a view of the whole line of coast; she returned with the 
intelligence that there were five ships, which seemed of 
a long build, advancing leisurely towards us by making 
short tacks to catch the wind, and that in about half an 
hour they would be in sight. 

Whilst I was pondering in my mind what line of action 
I should follow, my eye fell upon the two boats of the 
Hellenes which had been spared in the general demoli- 
tion, and it occurred to me that I could make them of 
Service. 

“How about our soundings, Himilco ?” I said. 

“Ten cubits, and a rocky bottom,” was the pilot’s 
prompt reply. 

Gisgo was on board the Ashtoreth. He had come 
to bring the report of the Cadzros. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 157 





“Tell me, Gisgo,” I said, “how much water do those 
Tyrrhenian privateers draw? Is it six cubits ?” 

“Aye, six at the very least; they look low upon the 
water, but they sink very deep ; it is their excessive weight 
that keeps them from lurching.” 

“Very well; now go to those two boats, scuttle them, 
and sink them there, right in front of my ship. There!” 
I said, pointing with my hand. 

Himilco and Gisgo chuckled again with delight as they 
went to do as they were ordered, and in the course of 
twenty minutes the boats were both sunk, and formed a 
regular stockade about three cubits below the surface of 
the water, 

My next proceeding was to direct the Cadiros to lower 
her sail, and to pretend to be dragging herself with diffi- 
culty towards the headland, as though she had sustained 
some serious injury. I then made the Dagon sheer off 
about two stadia out to sea, ordering her to make her way 
back to the Ashtoreth by short tacks, as if she were coming 
to her assistance. Meanwhile I gave my ship the appear- 
ance of being a disabled merchantman; I lowered my sail, 
made my rowers struggle with their oars without propelling 
the vessel, and told all my soldiers to slip their shields, 
and to lie down flat upon the deck so as not to be seen. 

“What’s up now, Captain?” said Chamai raising his 
head, with a merry grin. 

I told him that I was giving a sprat to catch a mackerel ; 
and that if he would have patience I hoped he would 
be satisfied with the haul. 

It was a very short time now before the Rasenne caught 
sight of us. Immediately one of the five ships bore down 
directly upon the Cadrros,; two of them started off in 
pursuit of the Dagon, which was still out to sea, and the 
remaining two stecred for the Ashtoreth, which, as though 
perfectly helpless, exhibited no sign of resistance. 

When they had come within a stadium of me I had 
ample opportunity of cxamining the details of their boats 


158 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





and equipments. Although the boats were long, they were 
very ill-constructed; they had only a single deck, and 
were each manned by thirty rowers ; the stern was some- 
what raised, but the deck was almost level with the sea ; 
on the prow was painted a pair of huge red and white eyes 
which seemed to stare fixedly at the waves. The men on 
board were very tall; they had large heads, wide flat faces, 
reddish complexions and thin beards; although their 
limbs were muscular and well-developed, their gait was 
very awkward. They were armed with ponderous lances, 
hatchets, bucklers, and round helmets which had no crests ; 
whilst their legs were protected either by sandals or by 
pointed gaiters. Most of them wore tunics of some dark 
colour, which, though longer than our kitonets, were 
shorter than those worn by the Syrians. On their arms 
and throats was a profusion of bracelets and necklaces, and 
their girdles, which were very wide, were ornamented with 
plates of polished bronze. After looking at them steadily 
for a time, Abigail declared that she would rather die than 
fall into the hands of such revolting creatures. 

Coming within hail, the Rasenne began shouting furiously 
at us, but we took no heed. Finding that their challenge 
was unanswered, they sent one of their boats in front of me, 
whilst the other passed round the stern intending to cut 
me off from the shore ; but they reckoned without their 
host. The former boat dashed itself violently against the 
stockade of concealed boats, and after two or three ineffec- 
tual efforts to disengage herself, heeled over on her side, 
and remained with her stern considerably sunk below 
the sea. 

My trumpet sounded, my oars dipped, my warriors 
started to their feet, and a shout of triumph rang through 
the air. 

Thoroughly taken aback by our sudden revival, the other 
boat endeavoured to tack about to get out of our way; but 
so clumsily did she set about the manceuvre, that she only 
succccded in running her stern aground, and being thus 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 15 
entirely at my mercy, I poured into her such a shower 
of missiles as probably her commander and crew had 
never before conceived possible. 

“Here, Tyrrhenians, Rasenne, or whatever you call 
yourselves,” shouted Hannibal, as he worked away at his 
scorpions ; “here is a heavenly shower of manna for you! 
If these arrows and Cretan pebbles are not to your taste, 
we can find you a nice little lot of spiked stakes.” 

Bichri, too, was quite in his element. With such an 
immovable mark within bowshot, he selected his victims 
just as he pleased, and was careful to choose those who 
wore any article of apparel or any ornament that parti- 
cularly struck his fancy. 

“Look at that fellow,” I heard him say, “ with the 
necklace of gold beads inlaid with blue and enamelled 
with white: I must have him; but I must hit him on the 
head, or I shall be spoiling that charming bit of embroidery 
he is wearing.” 

As our deck was several cubits higher than that of our 
antagonists, their archers were comparatively powerless ; 
and in order to protect themselves under the incessant 
discharge of our missiles, they took refuge in their hold. 
Observing their retreat, Hannibal, Chamai and Bichri, with 
a few followers, leaped down upon their deck ; Jonah, in 
his impetuous haste to go after them, came sprawling down 
headlong with a tremendous thud, but rising rapidly to his 
fect, caught hold of the heels of an unhappy Tyrrhenian 
who had not had time to make his escape, twirled him 
round and round in the air like a sling, and dashed out his 
brains against the side of the vessel. Short work was made 
with the few who still remaincd above board, and in a few 
minutes more, our people, who had forced their way down 
the hatchway, reappeared, bringing with them twenty men, 
of whom, to my surprise I found that no less than eleven 
were Pheenicians. Their costume and physiognomy revealed 
this at a glance. 

Free now to turn my attention from the shore to the 





160 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





sea, I found that the Dagon had already sunk one of the 
privateers, and in concert with the Cadzros was driving the 
remaining two fast inland. I joined in the pursuit, and 
after a short chase, one of the boats, overwhelmed by the 
volleys of stones which we threw from our engines, found 
all further resistance useless, and made signs of surrender. 
The capture of this vessel cost us the lives of two of our 
men, and while we were engaged in securing our prize, the 
remaining boat took advantage of our occupation to effect 
an escape. 

We lost as little time as possible in making our way 
back to the coast towards the prizes we had left there. We 
were only just in time. The Samnites had been watching 
the issue of the contest, and were hastening down from the 
heights to pillage the abandoned vessels; but as I sent 
some detachments of men to keep guard, they had for the 
present to keep their distance, and to be content to bide 
their time before they could enjoy the crumbs of the 
expected feast. 

Our first business now was to empty the boat that had 
struck upon the sunken stockade; it had already nearly 
two cubits of water in its hold, and was consequently liable 
to sink at any moment. There were no prisoners to be 
made here ; during our engagement with the other vessels 
some of the men had escaped in a small boat, and the rest 
had swum to shore, but only to be captured by the Sam- 
nites. The Cadiros and Dagon, however, had thirty-three 
prisoners, making, with the nine I had myself taken, a total 
of forty-two, who were first stripped of everything of any 
value that was found belonging to them, and then distri- 
buted amongst our three crews, who would be entitled to 
dispose of them to our colonists on the coast of Libya. 
where no doubt they would bein demand either for soldiers 
or artisans, 

The eleven Phoenicians were highly delighted at what 
had befallen them ; their capture was really a deliverance 
They told me that they had formed part of the crew of a 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 161 





Sidonian gaoul which had been wrecked off the coast of 
Sardinia, and that they had escaped in one of the small 
boats. They had attempted to reach one of our settlements 
in the island, but tempestuous weather had frustrated their 
plan, and they had been carried out to sea, and finally 
drifted tothe mainland. They had next tried to make their 
way northward to one of the Phcenician marts, established 
on the coast ; and it was more than a week ago since they 
had fallen into the hands of the Rasennz, who had sent 
them to serve on board their privateers. All of them were 
ragged, and more than half-starved; and their rejoicing 
seemed unbounded, when I not only provided them with 
clothes and food, but allowed them to enter my service on 
an equal footing with the rest of my crews. Amongst them 
was an experienced helmsman and a master mariner ; so 
that all our losses were toa great extent replaced, especially 
as the whole of the wounded were in a fair way of recovery. 

Stripping the dead, collecting the booty, conveying 
it on board, and making lists of it all, occupied us till 
the close of the day, and it was past sunset before we 
were at liberty to avail ourselves of the wind, which was 
quite favourable for our coasting along towards the Straits 
of Sicily. We left the captured boats, and whatever plunder 
was too heavy or too valueless to be worth carrying away, 
to the Samnites, who, with shouts of joy, rushed forward to 
take possession of their unexpected prize. 

The evening meal was merry. Our successful negotiations, 
our victorious skirmish, our release of our countrymen, our 
valuable booty, were all topics of mutual congratulation. 
Hannibal was loud in his praises of my stratagem of the 
stockade. 

ce Ahilethat’s: an: old “trick” said -Himilco:; “we. once 
played it off upon the Carians of Rhodes, and took eleven 
of their ships and no end of plunder. Old Tarshish 
mariners are adepts at schemes of that sort.” 

Chamai held up a pair of twisted bracelets, and a necklace 
of a similar pattern, ornamented with a large flat crescent. 

M 


162 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 





“ Are these solid gold, captain?” he asked me. 

“ Aye, and of the finest sort,” I answered ; “it is the gold 
they get from the Eridanus and the Rhone; you are to be 
congratulated on your lucky prize.” 

“Not one man did I either kill or catch,” said Hanno; 
“and I suppose I shall have to be content with my share- 
and-share-alike portion of the plunder; but I confess I 
should be very pleased if I might have a vase which I dis- 
covered amongst the captured goods; it is exquisitely 
painted, and I have no doubt that these Rasenne, ugly as 
they are themselves, are highly-skilled as artists.” 

I told him that I saw no difficulty in yielding to his 
wish, and requested him to submit to me his inventory of 
the spoil. Casting my eye at it, I was not surprised to find 
that the articles made of gold were considerably larger-in 
number than those made of silver. I knew that the Tyrrhe- 
nians had little or no communication with Tarshish and 
the other silver-producing countries, whilst they have free 
access to the sands of the Eridanus, and that by the road 
made by the Ligurian convicts they could cross the moun- 
tains to the Rhone. There were a good many articles 
of copper which came from Lower Vitalia, and amongst 
them some figures, which were evidently images of 
gods. 

I sent for Gisgo to come on board and interrogate the 
prisoners in their own language. In their peculiar muffled 
accent they informed us that they had come from Populonia, 
and were subjects of King Tarchnas, who ruled over twenty 
Tyrrhenian cities. Populonia, they said, was their only 
sea-port, and thence they always set sail upon their 
cruises, their ships being manned with Ligurians as oars- 
men and sailors, whilst their fighting men were nearly all 
Rasenne. Two of their chiefs they mentioned as having 
been killed in the fight, whose names were Vivenna and 
Spurinna ; Himilco gave it as his opinion that these names 
were identical with the Vitalian Vibius and Spurius. 

Upon being shown the copper images of the gods which 








ee 
Loa fac e paxye 163. 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 163 





had been found amongst the plunder, the prisoners 
recognised them at once, and told us the names. There 
were Turms, the Hermes of the Hellenes; Turan, whom I 
believed to be our Ashtoreth ; Sethlans, the same as our 
Khousor Phtah ; Fouflouns the Dionysus of the Hellenes ; 
and another called Menvra, of whom I had never heard, but 
whom Himilco declared to the Vitalian goddess Minerva. 

The Tyrrhenians went on to say that they were allies 
of the Latins and of the Opsci, or Occi, a name which in 
our language signifies “workmen;” and that the semi- 
barbarous Samnites, although of the same race and 
speaking the same tongue as the Opsci, had committed 
depredations against them on the river Volturnus, or “the 
rolling stream ;” and had likewise attacked the Latin settle- 
ment of Novla, or “the new city.” In defence of their 
allies, the Rasenne had declared war against the Samnites, 
and were on their way to attack them when they en- 
countered us, and fell into our power. This was all the 
information they had to give me, and I sent the men back 
to the care of the crew, and we all retired to rest. 

The day had hardly dawned when I rose, and looking a 
little to the left, I could see behind us the light, the flames, 
and the lurid smoke that issued from the crater of Mount 
Etna. The two women and all the men, who had never 
before seen such a spectacle, looked on, some in astonish- 
ment, some in downright terror. Hannibal was as surprised 
as anyone, and declared that except he knew to the con- 
trary, he should have taken it forthe mouth of hell ; adding, 
that he thought it a great pity that all that mighty force 
of fire could not be utilised: it would make a splendid 
apparatus for reducing an obstinate city in a siege. To my 
inquiry whether he had never seen the burning mountain in 
Cilicia, he replied that, although he had passed several 
tines, it had never been his good fortune to be there at the 
time of an eruption. 

We passed sufficiently close to Etna to be able most 
distinctly to hear its roar. The women, really alarmed, 


164 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





betook themselves to their cabin. Hanno asked what was 
the distance of the volcano from us. 

“Sixty stadia at least,” I answered; “you seem sur- 
prised at our seeing it so plainly, but in the broad-daylight 
it will not be nearly so conspicuous, although it is very 
lofty. My own reason for coming so close to it now is 
that we may the more directly steer into the Straits of 
Sicily.” 

Jonah, who at first had been terribly alarmed, did not 
disguise his satisfaction that we were not going any closer 
to the mountain. “All very well in the distance,” he said ; 
“it is the kitchen of Nergal, the old cock, whose head is up 
in the sky and his feet hereon earth. Yes, it is his kitchen ; 
where he roasts his behemoths and leviathans ; his smallest 
platter is a good deal bigger than this deck. But the time 
is coming when El-Adonai shall demolish him, and the 
children of Israel shall feast upon him and his dainties !” 

“Hold your tongue, you fool!” said Chamai. “None of 
your idiot stories of Dan, and your fables of the drunken 
Ephraimites !” 

“ Neither stories nor fables!” retorted Jonah; “have you 
not a proof before your eyes that it is all true? What will 
the people of Eltekeh say when I tell them I have seen 
Nergal’s kitchen ?” 

“Hush! I say! Shut up!” And as Chamai spoke, he 
gave the giant a violent blow across his mouth with his 
open hand. 

“Humph!” he growled; “I must hold my _ tongue, 
must I?” 

We now made rapid headway towards the north, and as 
we approached the strait, Himilco and his sailors amused 
themselves by working up Aminocles and the other 
Phocians to the highest pitch of terror. 

“That is the mountain of the Cyclopes that you have 
been looking at,” he said to them; “now’s your time to 
look out sharp to the right and left, and you shall see 
Scylla and Charybdis. You know who they are. They 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 165 





are the ravenous monsters that swallow up whole ships and 
all their crews. Listen! you can hear them roaring now ; 
they seem desperately hungry.” 

“I remember,” said one of the sailors, “ seeing Charybdis 
suck in three gaouls and two galleys at one draught, just 
as easily as I could drain a cup of wine.” 

“And would you believe,” interposed the man who was 
at the helm, “that I have seen the heads of Scylla shatter 
a whole fleet with such violence that the admiral was 
pitched clean over there into the jaws of the volcano ?” 

Himilco, of course, could not allow himself to be outdone 
by the men, and proceeded to say: 

“JT have been nearer to Scylla than any of you. One 
cloudy night I was at the prow, vainly endeavouring to 
make out the Cabiri, when all at once I felt her foamy 
mouth open gently, close behind me, and snap off my cap 
—lucky it wasn’t my head too—and before T could turn 
round, Charybdis had swallowed a whole bottle of my best 
Berytos and three whole cheeses !” 

Jonah, who was looking on intensely interested, said : 

“And what did you do, pilot? I know what I should 
have done. I should have given her a good crack across 
her muzzle.” 

“QO, it was no good my saying anything to her; she 
wouldn’t have understood me; the only language she can 
comprehend is that of the Leestrigonians.” 

He could hardly speak for laughing; but Aminocles 
cowered down upon the deck, and covered his head with 
his loose tunic, the other six Phocians scampering off in 
dismay to secrete themselves in the hold. 


166 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHARTER: xX; 


GISGO THE EARLESS RECOVERS HIS EARS, 


NOTWITHSTANDING the strong and rapid current which 
bears down upon the promontory to the right, and which 
has given rise to the marvellous stories with which sailors 
delight to awaken the fears of the inexperienced, we passed 
through the strait without the slightest difficulty ; and so 
well did I know the channel, and so manageable were our 
ships, that we had no necessity to diminish our ordinary 
speed. The coast on either hand was covered with fine 
wooded hills, surmounted by jagged grey rocks, rising up 
almost perpendicularly, like the battlements of a fortress ; 
there was good anchorage everywhere, and more especially 
in the bay on the side of the island in the strait itself. I 
did not, however, lay to, but hastened on with as much 
speed as possible, in order that before nightfall I might 
reach the roadstead in front of the promontory of Lily- 
boeum, to which our countrymen are accustomed to pay 
periodical visits for the purpose of purchasing sulphur and 
lava-stones. The Siculians have a few cabins on the 
margin of the roadstead, and are on the whole less savage 
than their countrymen in the south and west of the island, 
more frequent intercourse with strangers having tended to 
soften their manners ; but the ever-increasing immigration 
of the Latins 1s so continuously overwhelming their num- 
bers, that in my opinion they will before long have entirely 
disappeared. 

Rounding the cape, I steered due west along the shore 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 167 





of the island, leaving the AZolian peaks to our right, and by 
evening had reached the anchorage upon which I had 
settled, and where I found good moorings about two bow- 
shots from the beach. I did not feel altogether sure of my 
quarters, so that I would not land any of my merchandise 
that night, and I resolved, moreover, to hold no communi- 
cation of any kind with the natives till the morning. Some 
men came with torches to the water’s edge and made signs 
of friendly intentions, but I merely told them that they 
might bring what sulphur, coral, or mother-of-pearl they 
could on the next day ; and finding that I was resolute in 
my refusal to negotiate with them then, they went away. 

They had not been gone very long, when Himilco 
pointed out to me some shoals of tunny-fish within reach, 
and asked permission to try and catch some. As it was 
some time since our men had tasted fresh fish, I could not 
refuse, but allowed him to make up a party of the most 
experienced fishermen he could select. A lot of harpoons 
and tridents were lowered into a boat, into which got Bichri 
and two archers, carrying some lines to be attached to the 
harpoons to haul up the fish that were hit. Jonah, ever on 
the alert when food was in question, asked permission to 
join the party, and was allowed to go under condition that 
he brought his trumpet and some torches to attract the 
fish. It had been ascertained that Aminocles was a skilful 
hand at this pursuit ; and as soon as he was satisfied that 
there was no fear of his encountering any of the monsters 
of which he had heard so much, he was induced to accom- 
pany them. 

“ How was it,” he said to Himilco, “that we escaped 
Scylla and Charybdis so completely? I looked out once 
or twice, but I saw nothing alarming.” 

“ Neither did I,” said Himilco, gravely. “The truth is, 
the old monster does not show hersclf every day, or, may- 
be, something scared her; perhaps Hannibal’s red crest, or 
perhaps Jonah’s big trumpet. Anyhow, there’s no ac: 
counting for the freaks of these monsters.” 


168 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“ She was quite right in keeping out of my way,” said 
Jonah ; “now I have seen Nergal’s kitchen, I have courage 
enough for anything.” 

Aminocles was still not quite easy in his mind, and with 
reference to the volcanoes, asked whether we were quite 
out of the reach of the flames. 

“Out of reach!” repeated Himilco ; “why, the flames 
are six hundred stadia away from where you saw them ; 
you only saw the reflection in the clouds.” 





“ Nergal’s kitchens, all of them!” said Jonah; “ plenty 
of them! nice and hot! He can fry and he can bake! 
He’s a capital cook!” 

The sailors were immensely amused at all this talk ; and 
when Himilco, with imperturbable seriousness, proceeded 
to interpret Jonah’s remarks to the credulous and timid 
Aminocles, their laughter became perfectly uproarious. 

The fishing was a great success. Several good hauls 
were made; and before daylight the boat returned, and 
the men retired to their well-earned rest. 

In good time next morning the natives whom we had 


TEE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 169 





seen the previous evening, came with a considerable in- 
crease in their number, and one of them swam boldly out 
from the shore, and was received on board the Ashéoreth. 
He was a man that might be regarded as a fair type of 
the Siculians; tall, with a low forehead, thin nose and 
lips, beardless chin, and copper-coloured complexion. He 
addressed us in the Latin tongue, and was eager to tell 
us that the Latins were now in possession of the eastern 
portion of the island, and were the bitterest enemies of 
the Siculians. I replied that I was a Phcenician, and that 
Italian Latins, or, Italian Samnites, Umbrians, or Sabellians 
were all the same to me; what I wanted was coral, sulphur, 
and lava; and if the Siculians could bring me these, they 
should have a liberal price in return. He replied: 

“We are subjects of King Morgesh, who will only permit 
us to transact business inland. Come with us to yonder 
mountains ; we have plenty of the commodities you want. 
There we may make our exchanges.” 

The persistency with which he urged our going on 
shore with our goods aroused my suspicions; but without 
exhibiting any sign of mistrust I pretended to acquiesce 
in his proposal, and at once proceeded to land my bales 
of merchandise and sixty armed men, taking the precaution, 
moreover, of placing all my archers on board the Cadiros, 
which, with her machines ready for action, was moored 
within a few cubits of the shore. 

“What need to bring so many men ?” asked the Siculian, 
when we had landed; “we can carry your packages to the 
mountains.” 

When I replied that I did not intend to go inland at 
all, and that if they wanted to effect any bartering with 
us they must bring their own merchandise down to the 
beach, the man was evidently very much disconcerted, 
and went away to consult his companions. While he was 
absent, I availed myself of the opportunity of replenishing 
all our water-casks from the copious brook that flowed inta 
the bay. 


170 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





On the man’s return, he was accompanied by two of his 
colleagues. 

“Do not be afraid of the fatigue of ascending the 
mountain,” they urged; “we will not only convey your 
property, but we will carry all of you too, if you like. 
Only come.” 

And with repeated solicitations, they assured me I 
should be pleased with the bargains I should be able 
to make. 

I represented the impossibility of my yielding to their 
wishes. It was my determination to set sail again that 
very evening ; consequently there was no leisure for us to 
quit the shore. While I was talking, I made my people 
unfold to the view of the savages some specimens of my 
wares—glass beads and trinkets, bottles and bright caldrons, 
and some parti-coloured stuffs. These proved too much for 
their cupidity, and unable to stand out any longer, and 
convinced of my inflexible purpose of remaining where I 
was, they hurried off to fetch their own commodities. 

Rough and brutal in their manners, they haggled over 
every item; and whenever they saw anything that espe- 
cially attracted their fancy, they tried to snatch it from our 
hands ; or, if small enough, they would endeavour slyly to 
pilfer it; but we kept a sharp look-out, and as fast as I 
completed my purchases, I despatched them either to the 
Dagon or to my own ship. The throng of the Siculians 
gradually grew larger and larger, and in proportion as their 
numbers increased, their demands became more and more 
encroaching ; so much so, that fearing some outbreak of 
violence, I thought it prudent to send for Chamai, Bichri, 
Himilco, and a score of men to supplement my body- 
cuard. 

All at once, Gisgo, who had been sitting quietly on the 
beach watching the proceedings, started to his feet, and 
touching Himilco’s shoulder, drew his attention to a sudden 
stir that had begun amongst the Siculians in the rear 
Following with my eye the direction of his finger, I per. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 7x 





ceived in a moment that some king or chief was passing 
through the throng, which was falling tack to allow him a 
passage. Before him was carried a number of rods, all 
painted red, and ornamented with coral, mother-of-pearl, 
and other glittering substances. From the end of the longest 
f th2se rods dangled some ill-defined objects, which to 
my unpractised eye looked like nothing so much as strings 
of faded leaves. But Gisgo was better informed. 

Pointing to the rods, and with a voice almost choked 
with excitement, he said : 

“ Captain, there are my ears !” 

“Your ears! What do you mean ?” 

“There, there! on that stick! strung together! I know 
what they are well enough.” 

And he muttered to himself: “A man knows his own 
ears.” 

It was all in vain that I strained my eyes to see which of 
the shapeless and withered cartilages Gisgo maintained 
were his: I could make out nothing to distinguish one pair 
of ears from another. 

“Never mind,” said Gisgo; “I recognise them; and I 
recognise something else ; that chief is the blackguard who 
cut them off.” 

The impropriator of my pilot’s ears had now advanced to 
me, and commenced negotiating in person. He sold mea 
quantity of sulphur, and appeared to be conducting his 
transaction in a friendly and equitable manner; but just as 
I was about, as usual, to embark my purchase, he declared 
that in addition to the stipulated price, he must have a 
cuirass like Hannibal’s. I told him peremptorily that he 
could not have anything beyond the contract, whereupon 
he caught hold of the cuirass that Hannibal was wearing, 
and tried to drag it from him by main force. Hannibal, 
however, was too strong for him, and repelled him with a 
blow so violent that he stumbled and fell to the ground. 
In a moment, doubtless at a preconcerted signal, we were 
assailed by a shower of stones and lances. I was quite pre: 


172 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





pared ; my measures of defence had all been arranged, and 
at a sign from me, the Cadiros set her catapults at work, 
and discharged a volley of missiles over our head into the 
throng of the enemy, whilst Hannibal and Chamai, each 
with his own troop, charged right and left. 

But Gisgo was beforehand with any of us. Before the 
chief could regain his feet, the pilot rushed at him, and with 
the help of Himilco (who drew his sword, and hurried to 
his assistance) he had split open the chief’s skull, and laid 
two of his staff-bearers dead, or as good as dead, by his 
side. 

My fighting-men meanwhile succeeded in driving back 
the foremost Siculians half a stadium from the water's edge, 
and as soon as our boats were loaded and ready to start, | 
sounded the signal for retreat. Finding themselves no 
longer pursued, the Siculians faced about and followed us 
back at a safe distance, trying to harass us by stones and 
javelins; but I made my people embark a few at a time, 
and when there were only about fifteen of us remaining, 
just enough for one boat’s load, I was congratulating myself 
that we had been so little molested; but at that very 
instant a large party of the Siculians made a dash towards 
us, and if it had not been that the Cadzros skilfully protected 
us by her engines, we must inevitably have fallen into their 
hands. As it was, we all managed to embark; and 
although they pursued us with hideous yells as far as they 
could into the water, we got right away, the Cadiros 
slipping her moorings and following us without sustaining 
any injury. 

One of our Phocians had been killed, and another seriously 
wounded, and eight of our own people had received slight 
cuts and contusions ; but we had obtained fifteen hundred 
shekels of coral, mother-of-pearl, and sulphur, so that on 
the whole I considered we had come out of the affair 
without much to regret. I rejoiced that my prudence and 
resolution had spared us from falling into any ambush of 
the treacherous foe. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 173 





Gisgo was in high spirits ; he considered himself amply 
avenged, and came on board the Ashtoreth ts show me his 
trophies ; he brought two rods that he had captured, to each 
of which he had affixed a pair of bleeding ears, freshly cut 
from the skulls of his fallen adversaries. With regard to 
his own ears, nothing could convince him but that he had 
found them amongst the string of others, and the pair he 
selected was ever afterwards preserved most carefully in his 
leather purse. 

During the night we passed through the group of the 
Egades, which lie off Lilyboeum, and where the Phoenicians 
have established a naval station. After hailing one of the 
guard-ships, we directed our course south-west, hoping that 
we might, with a calm sea and a light wind from the east, 
succeed by the following afternoon in reaching the fine 
bay which encloses, on the one hand, the roadstead of 
Utica, the metropolis and arsenal of our Libyan settle- 
ments, and on the other the harbour of Bozrah, its newly- 
built rival. 

Eager to catch sight of the first important place at which 
they were to rest awhile, my people next morning were up 
betimes. Hannibal was especially interested ; he had long 
wished to visit both Utica and Carthage, and asked me if 
it were true that Carthage had formerly been called Bozrah, 
and had not been known as Carthage for more than twenty 
years. 

I replicd that his impression about-Carthage was quite 
correct ; it had originally been Bozrah, which means “the 
citadel ;’ but Utica had been in existence for more than a 
century. He would find it a noble city; its Cothén, or 
war-port, contained sixty dry-docks, above each of which 
was erected a magazine, and the whole place landwards 
was rendered impregnable by a triple wall. 

Before disembarking, I satisfied myself that my prisoners 
were all in good condition, and after they had been well 
washed I ordered them to be supplied with double rations. 
The Rasenne gencrally are very superstitious, and my 


174 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





captives were no exceptions. My proceedings with regard 
to them caused them much misgiving ; they imagined that 
the extra food and cleansing implied that their last hour 
was come, and that they were about to be offered in 
sacrifice to the gods. Every moment in the dim light of 
the hold they fancied they could hear the winged Turms 
coming to conduct their souls to the shades, and they even 
went so far as to persuade themselves and each other that 
they could make out the shrieks of the tortured who were 
being scourged below. I was glad to relieve them of their 
fears. When I made them aware that the object of my 
preparations was to make them ready for sale in a fine 
city, where they would be employed according to their 
abilities ; would be well fed and well clothed ; and where, if 
they conducted themselves meritoriously, they would have 
a claim to the spoils of war, they were full of glee, and fell 
to their double portions of meat with a double relish. One 
only regret they acknowledged; they mourned their 
removal from their Hestia, or hearth-goddess, but they 
soon consoled themselves with the reflection that as the 
gods are everywhere, they might fairly hope to find a 
Hestia in their new country. 

The Phocians had carried off the body of their comrade 
who had been killed by the Siculians and had conveyed it 
on board. I promised to try and procure them a piece of 
ground where they might bury him according to their own 
rites ; and so gratified were they by my endeavour to meet 
their wishes in this respect, that they declared they would 
encounter any perils by sea now that they found it did not 
deprive them of their rites of sepulture. Another circum- 
stance which had some little effect of reconciling them to 
their position was that Himilco, although he had great 
difficulty in bringing them to believe what he said, ex- 
plained to them that the Siculians, with whom they had 
just had an engagement, were really the Leestrigonians 
that they had so much dreaded. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 17$ 





CHAPTER: XI. 


OUR HEADS ARE IN PERIL. 


WHEN I returned to the deck, the promontory of Utica 
(or, as the point on the Libyan coast facing Sicily is some- 
times called, the Cape of Hermes) was clearly visible. 

In honour of our arrival at so important a city we all 
took extra pains in dressing ourselves. I put on my best 
kitonet and my embroidered cap; and Hannibal donned 
his plumed helmet, and wore a handsome tunic under his 
cuirass. 

We could ere long see not only the cape but the city 
of Utica itself; and further south, at the other extremity of 
the bay, a confused white mass, which unquestionably was 
Carthage. Leaving this on our left, we steered due west 
right into the bay, and having rounded the headland, 
coasted for some miles along the low-lying shore that 
continued all the way to the city, which seemed to rise 
in gentle gradations from the deep blue waters to where the 
“bozrah” formed its lofty crown. The red and brown 
domes of the buildings and the battlements of the citadel 
stood out in sharp relief against the azure sky; and the 
masses of verdure all around the city formed a fitting back- 
eround for the dazzling whiteness of its lime-washed walls. 

Having passed a number of imposing edifices on the 
island, which is separated from the mainland by a canal 
that forms the trade-harbour, we entered the war-port, in 
the centre of which, high above the crowds of shipping, 
rose the massive walls and towers of the Admiralty palace, 


176 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





I found that there was room for my ships on the left-hand 
quay, where I had them laid to, and then in company with 
Hanno I got into a small boat and rowed across the harbour 
to a jetty, wide and paved, that led from the Admiralty to 
the mainland, and which, being in connection with all the 
surrounding quays, is always thronged with passengers 
going to and fro upon business at the Admiralty offices. 

From the jetty we passed through a high vaulted gate- 
way, flanked on either side by a tower, into an outer court- 
yard. Here the sentinels asked our names, and sent us on 
through another lofty gateway, across a hall hung with red 
and yellow tapestry into a long dark lobby, at the end of 
which was a half-open gate leading into the large inner 
court. We crossed this court, and entered another lobby 
exactly like the one we had just quitted ; and leaving this, 
we found ourselves in a low square room with a vaulted 
roof, whence we passed, by a side door, into a gloomy room 
with a circular dome. We had, however, still farther to go: 
after ascending three long and very narrow staircases we 
entered an apartment with a lofty dome on the second floor 
of one of the towers ; but even yet we had not reached our 
destination. We had now to descend a few steps and pass 
along a corridor, from which we ascended another staircase, 
and finally reached a spacious apartment, circular in shape, 
well lighted by loop-holes in the wall, and having a hand. 
some vaulted ceiling. 

I could observe that we had thus made our way to the 
left-hand tower of the four which are ranged along the 
north front of the palace, one at each end of the building, 
and one at each side of the gateway, this one commanding 
a view of the Admiral’s private basin, beyond which I 
could see my own vessels lying in the Cothon. 

The apartment was hung with strips of tapestry alter- 
nately red and yellow, and the paved floor was covered 
with mats. The guards who had ushered us all the way 
from the outer courtyard remained standing at the door, and 
having given us permission to enter, Hanno and Tf advanced 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 177, 





alone towards a window, where, seated in a chair of painted 
wood, I recognised old Adonibal, the naval szffes, or suffect. 

Nearly every one is aware that our Libyan cities are 
subject to a government in many respects similar to that 
which existed among the children of Israel before the time 
of King Saul; that is, they are ruled by suffects, whose 
office corresponds very nearly to that of the “judges.” A 
council, all eligible as suffects, are nominated by the people, 
and these from their own number elect two (whom, how- 
ever, the people reserve to themselves the power of dis- 
placing), one to be “ naval suffect,” entrusted with the control 
of all maritime matters; the other, popularly called the 
“sacred suffect,” to have the superintendence of all inland 
affairs. But it is not so generally known that for the last 
ten years the Libyan suffects have been appointed without 
any sanction either of the Kings of Tyre or Sidon. The 
representatives are chosen independently, subject only to 
the condition that no Tyrians are admitted to the office at 
Utica, which is essentially a Sidonian colony, and no Sido- 
nian can be elected for Carthage, where it is the Tyrians 
who have been rearing the new city around the ancient 
Bozrah. 

At the time of our visit, Adonibal, the son of Adoniram, 
had been for eight years the naval suffect, and it was uni- 
versally acknowledged that he wielded his magistracy with 
a resolute and steady hand. After many years of adven- 
ture both by sea aad land, he had settled at Utica, where 
he had carried on his affairs, both in trade and warfare, 
with great success. He had led the forces of the city 
against the Libyans, had made incursions upon the coast of 
Tarshish, and in a great measure had contributed to the 
establishment of Massalia, the city of the Salians, at the 
mouth of the Rhone, in the land of the Celts. In return 
for his services, and as a proof of the confidence they had 
in his judgment and experience, the people of Utica elected 
him their naval suffect, and the way in which the city 
and its dependencies prospered under his rule convinced 

N 


178 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





them that their choice could not have fallen on a better 
man. 

In the course of my many voyages I had at various 
times been brought into contact with Adonibal, and although 
I was quite aware that he had been a daring freebooter, I 
knew him to be a brave sailor and a clever merchant. It 
was therefore with much pleasure that I advanced towards 
the chair in which the hale old man was seated. Although 
he had a flowing white beard, his upper lip was shorn per- 
fectly smooth in the old Chittim fashion; he wore his 
mariner’s cap pressed closely over his ears; and his nose, 
slightly redder than of yore, betokened that he had more 
than a slight acquaintance with the luscious produce of 
Helbon and Berytos. 

I bowed, and congratulated him that I found him looking 
so well. 

“Ah!” he said, speaking in a sort of facetious way that 
had become habitual to him, “here’s Mago, the Sidonian, 
the ‘cutest captain that ever took cedar ship to Tarshish ! 
And who is this young man with you?” 

I introduced Hanno as my scribe and fellow-townsman. 

“And the brave fellows that were with you when you 
came here before ; how are they all?” continued Adonibal, 
stroking his beard; ‘‘ Himilco with his one eye, and Gisgo 
who had lost his cars, how are they? And what has become 
of the notable Gadita?” 

Flattered by the accuracy with which he retained me and 
my people in his memory, I replied that they were all well 
and with me, and that he had only to turn his head to the 
window and he would see all my ships in the harbour, 
amongst them the Gadzta, whose name had been altered to 
the Cabzros. 

The old man laughed significantly. 

“J shall sce your ships quite soon enough for your liking,” 
he said ; “I shall not lose much time in making my official 
inspection of them. The Melkarth left here only three 
days since.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 17g 


_— 





“The Melkarth /” Y exclaimed in astonishment. 

Seeing my amazement he began to jeerme. “An old 
stager like you! you surprise me very much by trusting 
yourself here so soon after Bodmilcar.” 

“ Bodmilcar!” I repeated; “surely you must be unaware 
of how Bodmilcar has acted!” 

“T am only aware of this,” he said, his eye twinkling as 
he spoke ; “ you and your scribe must lay down your swords 
and be trotted off to the dungeons, and the rest of your 
people will very soon be trotted after you.” 











T stood dumb with bewilderment ; but ITanno, with whom 
neither patience nor reticence were prevailing virtues, laid 
his hand upon the hilt of his sword, and said :-— 

“This sword was given me by Melek David, and 
whoever demands its surrender shall first know the feel of 
its point in his bosom.” 

White with passion, the old man started to his feet. In 
an instant a couple of guards had laid their hands upon the 
shoulders of my impetuous scribe. 

“Let him alone!” he bawled ; “I can defend mysclf.” 


180 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Then suddenly controlling his fury, he said very slowly, 
addressing us both: 

“Lay down your swords at once, or by Baal-Peor! 
within a quarter of an hour your heads shall be swinging 
from the highest battlement of this very tower!” 

I knew that Adonibal was not a man to swear lightly by 
his god, and I knew, moreover, that a few heads more or 
less were a matter of no moment to him. Seeing, there- 
fore, that he was somewhat calmer, I summoned all my 
courage, and said as firmly as I could: 

“My lord suffect, you are bound to show justice to all 
mariners alike ; you would not, I am sure, commit a Sido- 
nian captain to the dungeons without giving him a fair 
hearing.” 

He had recovered his equanimity sufficiently to resume 
his bantering tone: 

“They have gone for the handcuffs: they will soon be 
back ; but perhaps you will have time to tell me what you 
want, while they are fetching them. And, really, I am 
curious to know what defence you can possibly make for 
your treachery to Bodmilcar, under whose command, as I 
see by his letters, you were placed by King Hiram.” 

“T have but one question to ask,” I said; “and if the 
answer convicts me, why then you may behead me, hang 
me, or crucify me, as you like. Have you any documents 
bearing Bodmilcar’s seal and signature ?” 

From a bag that was hanging beside him he drew out a 
papyrus-roll, which he opened and laid before me. 

“There,” he said, “is Bodmilcar’s deposition, written, 
signed, and sealed by himself. That convicts you plainly 
enough, I should think.” 

“Just the contrary,” I replied calmly; “Bodmilcar is 
caught in his own trap. Here is our charter-party.” And 
taking the deed from the hands of Hanno, I showed it to 
the suffect. 

“Yes,” I continued, “that is the indenture which sets 
forth the contract, and you need only glance at it to see 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 181 





that Bodmilcar covenanted to sail under my command. 
Why, the very seal with which he ratified his deposition 
was bought with the few coins I gave him to rescue him 
from starvation at Tyre! Let me ask you now, who is the 
traitor ?” 

Adonibal perused the document carefully, and seemed 
much distressed. In a few moments he rose and said: 

“Mago, my friend, I have manifestly misjudged you. 
Nothing could be more completely demonstrated than 
Bodmilcar’s faithlessness. Forgive me my too hasty con- 
clusion. I ought to have known that neither you nor your 
brave companions could ever have been guilty of such 
treachery.” 

He went on to say that he should be interested in hear- 
ing our whole story, and that he should be only too ready 
to do us justice. As I detailed the particulars of Bod- 
milcar’s conduct, he could hardly restrain his indignation. 

“ By Baal-Peor of Berytos!” he said, “if ever Bodmilcar 
and his crew come within reach of my clutches, they shall 
all be crucified within an hour.” 

He then addressed himself to Hanno: 

“You, sir scribe, seem to have a spirit of your own, not- 
withstanding your tender years.” 

“My lord,” replicd Hanno, “I should not have been so 
presumptuous if Mago had not already told me how re- 
nowned you were for discrimination and for justice. I felt 
that there could be nothing to fear from one who knows so 
well how to unmask the truth.” 

“You have a sharp fellow here, Mago,” said Adonibal to 
me, smiling as he spoke; “but, come now, we must all 
drink wine together. I have much to tell about Bodmilcar, 
and presently I shall hope to see as many of your people 
as you please, seated at my own table.” 

Thanking him for his hospitable offer, I made Hanno 
write down a list of my officers, which was delivered to one 
of the guards. Wine, meanwhile, had been brought in, and 
Adanibal himself handed us each an ivory goblet with a 


182 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





rim of Tarshish silver. While we were drinking, he ob- 
served that he took it for granted we had not come to 
Utica empty-handed. 

“T am quite aware,” he said, “that the bulk of your 
cargo is for King David; but I reckon that you are rather 
too old a sailor not to be doing a little business on your 
own account. What have you got to dispose of ?” 

I told him that I had brought some sulphur and lava- 
stones, articles which always used to command a ready 
sale in Libya. 

“And so they do now,” he said; “ you will be sure to 
get a good price for them. But what else have you ?” 

“Well, my lord suffect, you know I have been in three 
little skirmishes off Ionia and Sicily. You must naturally 
suppose I have managed to pick up a trifle or two.” 

“Ha! ha!” he laughed ; “you are a genuine Sidonian. 
Out with it, man !—how many have you got ?” 

“ Sixty-one,” -I answered ; “and fine sturdy fellows they 
are—as fine a lot as one could wish to see. Perhaps the 
council might like to purchase them. I would take any 
reasonable sum, and should prefer selling them in bulk 
rather than in separate parcels. I hope the republic may 
be induced to take them off my hands.” 

“ Good—-good, my friend,” said Adonibal ; “it is worth 
consideration. We have had some rough encounters lately 
with the Libyans, and must replace our soldiers. Your 
Hellenes may be a good investment. Under Pheenician 
generals they often do very well in the forts, and if they 
get killed, the loss is not very serious. I think I can 
arrange to take the lot. I can put them with a batch of 
I-gyptians that I bought of Bodmilcar, and send them off 
in divisions; some into garrison, some to the works, and 
some to fell trees. The Egyptians are good hands at 
building.” 

“Do I understand you aright ?” I asked, “have you pur- 
chased Egyptians from Bodmilcar ? There seems no limit 
to the scoundrel’s treachcry. Those Egyptians were lent 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 183 





him by Pharaoh to go in pursuit of us. Some of their ships 
were wrecked off Crete.” 

“ He sold them to me, ships and all,” said the Admiralty- 
lord. “They made a pretty good howling at first; but a 
day or two in the dungeons, and a little low diet, corrected 
all that, and to-day they are as quiet as lambs.” 

I could not help smiling as I realised the adroitness with 
which Bodmilcar had taken advantage of his: allies. 

“You may laugh ;” said Adonibal, half-amused and half- 
vexed; “the rascal has bamboozled the Egyptians, and 
outwitted you, crafty old salt as you are. Perhaps it may 
entertain you to learn that he has gone off with two of my 
galleys and three hundred Phecenicians.” 

“Good Ashtoreth!” I exclaimed ; “ how has he managed 
that?” 

He emptied his wine-cup and went on: 

“ Three hundred criminals sentenced to transportation in 
the mother-country had been landed here. My prisons 
were already full, and I resolved at the first opportunity to 
forward them to the mines at Tarshish. Bodmilcar arrived ; 
I gave him the commission. I lent him two galleys, and 
furnished him with written credentials from myself But 
what did the knave do? the curse of Khousor Phtah be on 
him! he saw that they were a sturdy set, gave them their 
freedom, put arms in their hands, and enlisted them intu 
his service. And now they are ready to attack you with 
my galleys as soon as you will give them a chance.” 

“No doubt,” I said; “but never mind; I daresay we 
shall be a match for them.” 

We were interrupted by the arrival of Hannibal and the 
rest of my officers, who had received the suffect’s invitation. 

“Welcome, friends! welcome to you all!” he said; “I 
ought to recognise some old faces. Aye, there's Hamilcar! 
I remember him when he was a cabin-boy on board my ship. 
And here, too, here’s Himilco, learned in the stars! and if 
my memory fails me not, no bad judge of a good cup of 
Helbon. It is so still, Himilco?” 


184 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





—_— 


My pilot professed that he retained his taste both for the 
astronomy and the wine. 

“And you, Gisgo, did you ever find your ears again?” 

“ Aye, that I did,” was the prompt reply ; “and here they 
are, safe in my purse. And not only my own, but those of 
the brute who cut them off?” And to the amusement of the 
suffect, Gisgo gave a graphic description of his splitting 
the skull of the Siculian chief. 

Adonibal had a kind word for ai) my men, and promised 
that he would visit them on board their ships, at which he 
said that he had been looking from his window, and had 
already formed a favourable opinion of them. 

Bread and meat were now laid before us; and while we 
were sitting at table I asked Adonibal whether amongst 
the Egyptians that Bodmilcar had sold him there were not 
some Hellenes. 

“Certainly,” he said ; “a dozen Phocians.” 

“A woman and a boy?” 

“Yes; both a woman and a boy; but as I had no use 
for them, Bodmilcar kept them ; he had an eunuch to take 
care of them.” 

“You saw the eunuch, then ?” 

“Yes; and a great lubberly Syrian he was.” 

“What did he talk about ?” 

“Why, he seemed to say nothing except to ask how he 
could get from here to Tyre.” 

“Ts he going back?” 

‘No; Bodmilcar has him, and I do not think he will let 
him go in a hurry.” 

When we had finished our repast, some slaves appeared 
with torches to attend us to our ships. We did not quit 
the palace the same way as we had entered, but after 
descending the staircase to the next lower floor of the 
tower, we passed through a door into the sloping gallery of 
what is called a “curtain;” into this the quarters of the 
soldiers opened, the chambers themselves being built in the 
thickness of the outer wall ; we then passed into a vaulted 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 185 





hall, whence a corridor brought us to the gate of the palace 
adjacent to the Admiralty-basin. A private barque was 
waiting to convey us to our ships, where we found the 
sailors, who by my orders had not been allowed to leave 
their posts, making all manner of plans for the next day. 

The trumpets on the various vessels were soon heard 
summoning the crews for the night, and the countless lights 
in every direction testified to the crowded condition of the 
harbour ; over these, high and bright, were the lights in the 
city, while in the east the flickerings from the loopholes of 
the Admiralty made the building look more sombre and 
massive than ever. 

In the morning I had everything put in readiness for the 
admiral’s promised visit, and before noon I saw his twelve- 
oar issuing from his private quay. As soon as he had 
mounted the deck of the Ashforeth, he turned and glanced 
impatiently towards the top of the palace. 

“Tdiots!” he muttered ; “how long they are! when I 
was young an order was executed in half the time.” 

He had not finished speaking before several men appeared 
at the summit of one of the towers and fastened a score of 
heads along the battlemented parapet. 

“Right at last!” he said ; “it ought to have been done a 
quarter of an hour ago!” 

Finding his equanimity restored, I proceeded to show 
him my cargo, and had the captives brought forward for him 
to see. Without any haggling (for Adonibal was really a 
generous and large-hearted man) he agreed to pay a liberal 
price, alike for the sulphur, the lava, and the slaves. 

He next made a complete inspection of my ships, and 
expressed himself much pleased with their construction 
and arrangements. Eager to make amends for his rough 
reception of us on our arrival, he promised me that I 
should be allowed to put my ships into a dry dock, free 
of dues, saying that this would give me an opportunity of 
examining the copper sheathing. He then gave orders for 
his purchases to be embarked, and for the slaves to be 


186 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





properly guarded, adding that he himself was going across 
the bay to settle some disputes that had arisen amongst 
the Tyrians. He summoned his officers to accompany bim 
with their ropes and scourges, and said to me: 

“Farewell, for the present, Mago; I see that your men 
are all longing to get ashore. I was young myself once, 
and I have not forgotten what it is to have some shekels 
burning holes in your pocket.” 

He made a sign to his attendants, and preceded by his 
scribe and officers, re-entered his boat and departed. 

Having thus disposed so satisfactorily of my property, 
I no longer delayed giving the men the permission that 
they were anticipating, to go on shore; and with the ex- 
ception of the few who were of necessity told off to take 
charge of the ships, they lost no time in availing themselves 
of their liberty. 

The Phocians had wrapped their dead comrade in a 
winding-sheet, and proposed to carry him to a cemetery 
of which one of my sailors had told them. Before they 
started, I presented Aminocles, as a token of my appre- 
ciation of his services, with a couple of silver shekels. He 
stared at them, quite bewildered. 

“Ah!” said I, “I forgot that you barbarians do not 
know anything about coined money ; but never mind—the 
sailors who are going with you will show you what to do 
with them. Trust them for that.” 

Accompanied by Hanno, Hannibal, Chamai, and Bichri, 
and taking the two women. I landed on the principal 
quay, Himilco and his friend Gisgo, with Hasdrubal and 
Hamilcar, preferring to go in another direction. We all 
had well-filled purses, and those who had never before seen 
the famous city, were impatient to inspect its wonders, 

Our first resort was to the temple of Ashtoreth. This 
was at the basement of one of the forts that protect the 
entrance to the harbour, and was at a very little distance 
from the place where our ships were lying ; and as neither 
Bichri, Chamai, nor Abigail wished to make any offering 


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To face page 187. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 187 





to the goddess, they waited for us upon the quay, enter- 
tained, they said, in watching the numerous vessels going 
in and out both of the Cothén and of the trade-harbour, 
of which the outer basin was visible from this point. 

Being built in a fort, the construction of the temple is 
necessarily very simple. Eight unornamented pillars sup- 
port the roof, and, like the walls, are stuccoed with yellow 
ochre ; at the further end was a recumbent figure of the 
goddess, with a golden crescent on her head. From the 
tariff of sacrifices which was posted up at the entrance I 
made my own selection, paying the sum of five shekels ; 
and having made my offering, I obtained permission from 
the governor of the fort, who was an old acquaintance, to 
take my party on to the terrace upon the roof, whence there 
was a fine view of the city. Chamai, Bichri, and Abigail 
joined us there. Looking towards the sea, we had on our 
left the Cothén and the Admiralty palace, and on our right 
the island which had been the original nucleus of the 
colony, and the trade-harbour which separated it from the 
mainland. Landwards rose the white buildings and terraces 
of the city, threaded by dark winding streets, and studded 
with domes painted red and brown, and culminating to- 
wards the south in the massive citadel, the residence of the 
sacred suffect. A double line of fortifications encircled the 
whole city both by land and sea, and outside this a moat 
and palisade, that followed the undulations of the soil, 
formed a third advanced line of defence; beyond this 
again stretched the country with its rich foliage and 
yellow crops, amongst which lay imbedded the snow- 
white terraces and brown domes of the country-houses, 
farms, and cisterns.* 

The Cothén at Utica, although not to be compared 
with the harbours at Tyre and Sidon, is still the finest 
of any that have yet been constructed in our western 
settlements, and is well adapted to the climate. It is 480 


1 The description of Utica is from M. Daux’s admirable book, * Fouilles 
executées dans le Zeugis et Byzacium.’ 


188 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





cubits, or nearly three-quarters of a stadium square, and is 
capable of holding as many as four hundred ships of war; 
a small dry basin is annexed to it, having a passage 
flanked by two lofty columns, and leading into the great 
harbour of the arsenal. On three sides it is bounded by 
paved quays, twelve cubits wide, which are very little 
above the level of the water; the fourth side being formed 
by a strong mole. Behind the quays rises a wall of rubble- 
work faced with Maltese stone, ia which at regular in- 
tervals are pierced the arched openings that form the 
entrances to the dry docks. The dry docks, as I had 
told Hannibal, are sixty in number; they are sixteen 
cubits high, but as they are only forty cubits long by 
twelve broad, they will only hold small vessels like the 
Cabiros, larger ships being sent for repairs into the basin 
in front of the arsenal. The docks are covered in by a 
flat pavement which forms a second quay as wide as the 
lower one; upon this, over the docks, and partitioned 
symmetrically with them, stands the range of magazines 
and storehouses, fourteen cubits high, of which the flat 
roofs form a third terrace, which is on a level with the 
city. The whole of these fine edifices are built upon 
cisterns. 

On the innermost side of the harbour the lowest quay 
is broken in the middle by the jetty which maintains 
the same level, and connects the quay with that of the 
Admiralty ; the shore end of it breaks the line of maga- 
zines, and is a wide open space, generally thronged with 
busy crowds ; it terminates in a flight of paved steps that 
leads up to the second and third terraces, from the upper- 
most of which, through openings in the embattled wall that 
encloses the whole, there is direct access into the city. 

The entrance to the Cothén is defended on one side by 
the fortress containing the temple, and on the other by two 
more forts connected by a curtain, and these form the 
boundary of the mole. ‘The channel, at the mouth, is 
considerably encroached upon by the towing-quays, which 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 18g 





are so broad as only to allow a passage thirty cubits in 
width. The outer basin of the arsenal is defended in a 
similar manner by two forts, one of them being at the 
other extremity of the mole; and other forts have been 
erected, one at each end of the interior side of the Cothén, 
the lower storey of one of them being appropriated as 
another temple. A solid embattled wall starts from the 
mole, and after running round the arsenal and its outer 
basin, joins the city wall at the left-hand fort, while a 
corresponding wall, pierced by a lofty square opening, 
flanked by loop-holes, separates the basin from the arsenal. 
As a connoisseur in such matters, Hannibal pronounced the 
whole to be wonderfully well devised, and expressed his 
conviction that, protected as they were by their forts and 
by the wall that was connected with the city wall, the 
Coth6n and arsenal were capable of resisting the most 
determined assault. 

The mole itself is a remarkably fine structure. It is 
built upon piles, and extends the whole length from the 
arsenal-basin to the entrance; it is no less than twenty- 
four cubits thick, and its massive substance of rubble is 
pierced by slanting apertures or air-holes, the effect of 
which is to rebut the waves and very materially to 
diminish their shock. The noble work does great credit 
to Adonibal, under whose supervision it was constructed. 

The Admiralty palace in the centre is a handsome edifice, 
consisting of a main building flanked by six circular towers 
and four bastions. It is a large irregular parallelogram, 
with one of the round towers at each exterior angle, and 
having an open court in the middle, upon which open 
all the apartments of the palace, and around which runs a 
gallery on pillars, supporting two tiers of arches. The two 
other round towers are on the sides of the gateway on the 
north front of the palace, which opens on the naval suffect’s 
private landing-place ; there is likewise a gateway on the 
south front, which is protected by walls pierced with loop- 
holes and built into the sides of the palace. It was through 


190 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





this gateway that I had myself passed into the outer court- 
yard, and from which I had been conducted up one of the 
two interior towers, of which only the tops were visible 
from the spot where we were now standing. 

After leaving the temple, I conducted my party along the 
quay to the open space at the end of the jetty, and then 
mounting the steps, we passed through the arches in the en- 
ceinte of the Cothén, thus making our way towards the 
city. We passed the baths, and taking a turning to the 
left, wound our path upwards in the direction of the Bozrah ; 
there, at the base of the plateau on which the citadel is 
built, is a large square, the common resort of the sailors ; 
under the shadow of the trees was a number of stalls for the 
sale of food and drink; there was likewise music as well as 
amusements of varicus kinds; and at the farther end was a 
market for the disposal of wild animals, ivory, slaves, and 
whatever else was the produce of the interior of Libya. 
For many hours of the day the place is thronged by people 
of every rank ; and musicians, acrobats, men with monkeys, 
dancers of both sexes, hawkers of caps and sandals, singers, 
vendors of cakes, fruit, and cooling drinks, all press upon 
the sailor fresh from his voyage, and endeavour to attract 
for themselves a share of the shekels which he is sure to 
have brought on shore. It had not been my intention 
to come to this spot, but early association made me almost 
involuntarily turn my steps in this direction. 

Everybody seemed bent on pleasure, and it was not long 
before I saw several groups of my own men laughing, 
shouting, singing and pushing along in true sailor fashion, 
jostling their neighbours, and buying wine and other drinks 
from every hawker that they met. ; 

Hannibal was breaking out into loud admiration of the 
life and gaiety of the place, when Hanno drew his attention 
to a row of heads that, by order of the sacred suffect, had 
been ranged along the battlements above the gate of the 
Bozrah. Hannibal paid but little heed to the ghastly sight, 
scarcely turning his eyes to look, but proceeded to rhapsodise 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 19! 





over the difficulty of scaling such fortifications, and to expa- 
tiate upon the impregnability of the position, until he was 
recalled by an exclamation of surprise made simultaneously 
by Bichri, Chamai, and the two women. A huge elephant 
was being led past by some Libyans. 

“What monster have we here?” cried Hannibal, equally 
astonished. 

“ Heavens!” exclaimed Bichri; “how many arrows would 
it take to slay such a brute as that ?” 

“Tt must be the Behemoth, of which we have heard so 
much,” said Chamai, gazing in amazement. 

I explained to them that the animal which had so much 
excited their wonder was an elephant; that the great teeth 
projecting from its jaws were ivory ; and that the rope-like 
appendage to its head, which it wielded so adroitly, was its 
trunk. 

“What a line a herd of those creatures would make on 
a field of battle!” said Hannibal, his thoughts turning as 
usual to military tactics ; “I cannot imagine how any in- 
fantry could hold their ground against them; the only 
thing would be to open their ranks, let the brutes pass 
through, and then attack them from behind.” 

“You are not the first soldier, Hannibal,” I answered, 
“who has had the same idea. Some of these animals have 
already been tamed, and trained to carry on their backs a 
tower full of archers. They are brought from the banks of 
the Upper Bagradas, and from the forests in the borders 
of Tritonis, a lake in the interior of Libya.” 

Besides the elephant, we saw a hippopotamus, or river 
horse, and a couple of rhinoceroses, with their big horns. 
The whole of these were a portion of the tribute (consisting 
of ivory, tame elephants, and other animals), which had 
been imposed by the sacred suffect upon the subjugated 
Libyans on the Bagradas, and which happened now to be 
on its transit to the Bozrah. 

A well-known voice, harsh and sonorous, at this instant 
caught my ear, and turning round, I saw Jonah towering 








192 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





head and shoulders above the crowd, and encircled by 
a group of my sailors, all in roars of laughter. 

“Now, at last,” the trumpeter was saying, “I am where I 
wanted to be! NowJam in the land of strange beasts ! 
This is the first animal I ever saw in my life with two tails, 
one behind and one at the end of his nose! I wonder how 
many onions it would take to season the carcase of such 
a brute as that! I wonder, too, how long it would take a 
fellow to eat it!” 

Leaving the sailors to their diversions, we bent our steps 
towards the market, where red-skinned Libyans, with 
aquiline noses and long plaited hair, were being offered for 
sale. Entering a tent where provisions of all kinds were 
sold, I ordered some refreshments for myself and my party, 
and a Syrian slave, who was serving instead of the owner, 
brought us two guinea-fowls, some stewed beans and onions, 
some olives, bread, and very fair Helbon wine. Hannibal 
seated himself near the stove to feast his eyes upon the 
wheat-and-honey cakes that were being fried upon the top. 

We had not long been in the refreshment-booth before 
Himilco and Gisgo made their appearance; they were 
followed by a dancing-girl and three other girls, one 
playing the flute, and two the tambourine. The dancing- 
girl was one of the western Moors; she had a copper- 
coloured complexion, and her hair twisted in coils like so 
many serpents; her nails and eyebrows were dyed red; 
her face was tattooed with three parallel stripes in regular 
Mahouarin fashion; and on her wrists and ankles she wore 
rattles that clanked again as she moved. The flute-player 
was a native of Barbary, with a fair skin and light hair, 
parted over a high, narrow forehead. Both girls were 
dressed alike in gay skirts, open as high as the knees; in 
their hair they had bodkins, of which the heads were 
grotesque figures ; their necklaces and girdles were of glass 
and enamel; and their earrings were great crosses. The 
tambourine-players were inconceivably ugly ; one of them 
appeared to belong to the Rasenne, and the other had her 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 193 





face so daubed with red and blue paint, and made such 
hideous grimaces, that it was idle to speculate upon her 
nationality. 

Himilco was in high spirits ; he came up to me and said 
that he and Gisgo had been spending the morning in 
going from tavern to tavern, and that they had engaged 
the orchestra, which we now saw, to accompany them for 
the day wherever they went, and to entertain them while 
they regaled themselves. 

“Poor girls!” said Abigail ; “are they obliged to perform 
for all the sailors alike ?” 

“No, indeed,” I replied; “they take good care never to 
perform unless they are well paid, and I suppose there is 
not much hardship in that.” 

The Libyan had now commenced her performance. We 
stayed for a few minutes watching her contortions, and then 
left the tent. 

The first person we met in the square was Hamilcar, 
carrying a monkey. 

“ Hamilcar with a monkey!” cried Hannibal. “Where 
did you get it? The very thing I want myself. I want to 
teach it to fight.” 

“T should like to have a monkey,” said Hanno ; “I would 
teach it to dance.” 

Bichri said he was sure he could make it learn the use of 
the bow; and Chamai declared it would be capital fun 
to teach it to make grimaces, and to mimic the mighty 
Jonah. 

On all hands it was agreed that we must have a monkey 
on board the A shtoreth. 

Hamilcar told them that they would have to go down 
towards the trade-harbour, through the square where the 
rich merchant Hamoun resides; and at the corner of the 
street which leads to the temple of Moloch they would 
find a dealer who had a whole cargo to dispose of. 

“You will have a choice there,” he said ; “there are apes 
of all sorts, all sizes, and all colours. You may have them 

O 


194 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





brown, or red, or grey, or black, or green; with tails or with- 
out tails; with long hair, short hair, or no hair; wild or 
tame ; only ask for what you want, and you will be sure to 
get it.” 

On our way down towards the trade-harbour we met 
Aminocles, quite drunk. He was being dragged along by 
a couple of sailors, singing at the top of their voices. He 
had learnt only too soon what was the use, or abuse, of the 
silver shekels. 

We had no trouble in finding the monkey-dealer’s, and 
Hanno, who had taken it upon himself to select the most 
intelligent monkey he could see, chose one which appeared 
to meet with general approval. 

“ And now what are we to call it?” said Hannibal, who 
liked everything to have a name. 

“Don’t you think,” said Hanno, “that it has a very 
striking resemblance to old Gebal, the judge at Sidon? 
Look at it now. Isn’t it like him when he rolls his eyes 
and scratches his poll, just before giving sentence ?” 

“Exactly!” said Hannibal, “the very facsimile! and 
Judge Gebal he shall be called!” 

We now made our way with our new purchase down to 
the quay, whence a small boat carried us across the trade- 
harbour to the opposite island, on which are built the hand- 
some residences of the more wealthy inhabitants of the 
city ; for during the last ten years many of the merchants 
have amassed considerable fortunes, and abandoning sea- 
life, have settled down in homes replete with Juxury. We 
walked to the extremity of the island, and after leaving 
the two women at the noble bath-room at the top of the 
wall above the small basin in which the pleasure-boats of 
the rich inhabitants are kept, we betook ourselves to the 
men’s baths, and enjoyed the refreshment of a wash and a 
shave. Rejoined by the women, we rowed across to the 
nearest point of the Cothdén, and paid a visit to the signal- 
tower ; thence we went on foot to the magnificent gardens 
that lie between the citadel and the lower town. Here I 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 195 





showed my party the temple of Achmon, and took them to 
see the public fountains, the constant resort of both sexes 
for lounging and gossip. 

Night coming on, we returned to the Ashtoreth, on which 
the lamps were already lighted. Going on board, I found 
the slave of the man who had entertained me during my 
former visit to Utica waiting for me with an invitation 
from his master to dine with him next day, and I sent 
a message that we should be pleased to avail ourselves 
of his hospitality. During our day’s absence my cook had 
prepared a sumptuous repast, which we all thoroughly 
enjoyed. 

The trumpets now sounded the signal for calling in the 
sailors. They came dropping in two or three at a time, 
all more or less tipsy, and some of them inclined to be 
noisy ; but so strong was their habit of submission to dis- 
cipline, that no sooner had they stepped on board than they 
relapsed into their wonted silence, and retired quietly to 
their berths. Himilco was among the last to return, and 
to his credit I feel bound to record that he was quite able 
to walk across the deck without any assistance from his 
friend Gisgo, 


196 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHAPTER. Att 
I CONSULT THE ORACLE, 


I MADE it my first business on the following morning to 
go to the great market-p!ace, near the trade-harbour and 
the temple of Achmon. It is surrounded by lofty houses 
upon an arcade, under which are the retail shops of the 
tradespeople, their warehouses being in courts at the back. 
In these shops every variety of Libyan merchandise was 
exhibited for sale. There were hides, dressed and un- 
dressed ; stones prepared for engraving; Numidian copper ; 
lion-skins from Mount Atlas; thongs of hippopotamus- 
hide from Lake Tritonis ; elephants’ tusks from the Macar; 
corn from Zeugis and Byzatium, and wool from the land of 
the Garamantines. I spent a considerable time in making 
purchases of ivory, and procured a good supply at a very 
fair price ; and later in the day went with Hannibal and 
Hamilcar to fulfil the engagement I had made on the 
previous night. Hanno and Chamai preferred escorting 
Chryseis and Abigail about the city; and Bichri went for 
an evening’s diversion with Gisgo, Hasdrubal, and Himilco. 

Barca, our host, one of the richest shipowners in the 
colony, had prepared us an elegant entertainment in a 
handsome tent pitched upon the terrace of his house. As 
soon as the meal was ended, wine was brought in, and musi- 
cians and dancing-girls performed for our amusement ; and 
one of Barca’s slaves, an old Libyan, who was well versed 
in the songs and traditions of his people, repeated his tales 
about the mystery and wonders of their origin. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 197 





According to his account, there had formerly, south of 
Libya, been an extensive sea, which received the water of 
several rivers, and to the south of which again lay the land 
of the negroes, who had faces like monkeys. This sea was 
the original Lake Tritonis, or Pallas, and the chain of lakes, 
at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, extending from the 
vicinity of Gades to Karth,’ in Byzatium (now known to us 
as the Tritons), are either marshes formed by the overflow 
of two great rivers from the south, whose waters have been 
diverted by Mount Atlas, or, when salt, are probably the 
remains of the same great sea. There are then, he repre- 
sented, two mountainous ridges, the more southernly of 
which outpours its streams as far as the Tritonis and Mount 
Atlas, and the other sends its rivers, the Macar and the 
Bagradas, into our own Great Sea. Further west, issuing 
also from Mount Atlas, are other important rivers, which 
lose themselves in the sands. These, however, long cen- 
turies back, had an outlet into the inland branch of the 
great Atlantic Ocean, which, at that remote period, was the 
southern boundary of Libya, and extending eastwards 
towards the confines of Egypt, ultimately joined the Syrtes. 
Libya was thus a great peninsula, connected with the main- 
land only by a narrow isthmus, now the Straits of Gades, 
and enclosed on every other coast by water; on the north 
and east by the Syrtes, by which it was separated from 
Egypt; on the south by the inland sea that covered the 
present sandy desert; and on the west by the ocean 
sells 

But as time went on great changes were evolved. His 
face beaming with intelligence as he spoke, the old man 
told of mighty convulsions of the earth, and how they 
changed the isthmus of Gades into a strait, and how the 
waters were swept back by the shock, so that the whole 
flood of the ocean rushed through to the Great Sea, and 
the Great Sea receded and yielded to the upheaving of the 
land. 


’ Karth, the town; late: Cirtha, the actual Constantine, 


198 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





I listened with increasing interest. I knew already 
how the sea could overwhelm the land. I was also 
aware how the Siculians maintain that long ages back a 
neck of solid land had joined their country to the con- 
tinent of the Vitalians. Many times, too, I had heard 
amongst Phoenicians how a deluge had detached the isle 
of Chittim from the mainland. And now I was hearing 
the wondrous tale of how the sea had retreated from the 
south of Libya. 

He went on to say that when the waters rolled away 
they submerged an immense number of islands, leaving the 
Fortunate Islands’ (of which I shall have to speak hereafter) 
as the sole representatives of what had previously been a 
vast archipelago, that had made communication easy, even 
in small boats, not only with the land of the Atlantides, 
but with that other great country that lies still further to 
the west. Now, however, that Atlantis has disappeared, all 
intercourse has been dropped with that remote land, from 
which both the red and white Libyans assert that they 
originally came, and whence migrating eastwards they 
founded cities as tney advanced, became the first settlers 
in Egypt, and spread far and wide the knowledge of 
their gods, which were really the Dionysus and Minerva 
of the Hellenes and Vitalians, and Zeus, known among 
us Phoenicians as Baal-Hamon. According to their own 
account (which is confirmed by the Hellenes), the Pe- 
lasgians, under the leadership of Melkarth-Ouso, came 
into Libya, but afterwards retreated to the east. Then 
came the great convulsion when the land was upheaved 
and the waters receded, and the earth subsided into its 
present configuration ; then, too, the Sidonians, protected 
by their gods, began to assert their sovereignty on the sea, 
and sending forth ships to every region of the world, 
opened emporiums of commerce, discovered mines, founded 
cities, taught the art of writing, and disseminated knowledge 
of every kind, 


' The Canaries. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 199 





More and more as the aged Libyan recited his ancient 
iegends had we become rapt in attention. Hannibal sat 
with his eyes wide open, and from time to time gave vent 
to ejaculations of astonishment; and I, though less sur- 
prised, for I had already speculated very much on these 
matters, was nevertheless deeply impressed with the clear- 
ness with which they had been laid before us. I retired 
that night with my brain agitated by excitement, and 
dreamed that I was commanding a magnificent fleet, and 
that we discovered the land beyond Atlantis; and when I 
woke in the morning, I made a vow in my mind that no 
sooner should my present expedition to Tarshish be com- 
pleted, than I would set out on a voyage of discovery to 
the west. 

We had been in Utica three days when Adonibal sent 
me a message that he wished to speak to me. Without 
loss of time I presented mysclf at the palace, and was 
conducted to the apartment from which the admiral can at 
once overlook the city, the harbour, and the sea. To his 
enquiry how long it would be before I took my departure, 
I replied that having taken in my cargo I hoped to sail 
in two days. 

“Here, then,” he said, “are letters for the suffects of 
Rusadir and Gades; and I intend to give you ten 
seamen to supply the places of those you have lost. I 
am sure there ought not to be any deficiency in your 
numbers in the event of your coming into collision with 
Bodmilcar.” 

I was proceeding to thank him for his liberality, but he 
stopped me, and said that he should have to trouble me for 
fifty shekels that I owed him. 

I professed myself quite ready to pay anything that was 
due, but said that I was very much amazed to learn that I 
was in his debt. 

“Tt is a mere trifle,” said Adonibal, in his usual facetious 
way; “it will not ruin you. I should not mention it at all, 
only you know it is a matter of principle with a true 


200 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Phcenician to keep his accounts straight. The truth is, it is 
a little fine. Some of your men have been half-killing a 
couple of my Ligurians. The knaves are down in the 
dungeon sleeping off the effects of their drinking-bout ; but 
just pay their fines, and I will give you an order for their 
release, and, if you like, you may go yourself and fetch 
them out.” 

“Ah,” said I, laughing, “you wanted to show off the 
efficiency of your police.” 

I could not help asking him whether the circumstance 
did not remind him of the time when I was his helmsman, 
and he had himself come to liberate me from the prison 
in Chittim, where I had been locked up for smashing the 
skull of the grand merchant from Seir. 

“You mean when I was captain of the Achmon—and a 
noble ship she was,” said Adonibal. ‘“ Yes, to be sure— 
I remember it perfectly: we were both of us younger 
then than we are now. When I was a youngster I was 
clways getting into scrapes as often as I went on shore 
with a purse-fuil cf money ; now I am only a poor hulk, 
dismasted and stranded here on the shore. Such is life ! 
while we are young we entertain ourselves with breaking 
each other’s heads, and when we are old we busy ourselves 
with cutting them off.” 

“But, seriously, how have my men been committing 
themselves ?” I asked. 

“As far as I understand the matter,” replied the suffect, 
“they took it into their heads to play pranks with one of the 
priests of Dionysos ; they treated him to some wine, made 
him perfectly tipsy, smeared his face all over with red 
and blue paint, and then insisted upon making him dance. 
Some of my Ligurian soldiers, seeing what was going on, 
tried to protect the priest—an interference that your men 
were not in the mood to allow. They had tripped up two of 
the soldiers, When the Admiralty-guard came to the rescue, 
and quictly walked off four of your drunken fellows to me. 
I sent them to the dungeon, but I have not had them 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 20) 





flogged ; I am generally as indulgent as possible in the 
case of a sailor’s spree. I am an admiral now, and old in 
the service, but I do not forget that I was once a young 
pilot.” 

The subterranean vaults to which I now descended were 
very dark : most of them were used as armouries or store- 
houses, but a few were set apart for prisons. The turnkey 
opened the door of one of these, and by the light of his 
torch I could distinguish Bichri and three of my sailors, 
all looking very sheepish, and I had some difficulty in 
repressing my inclination to laugh. However, I assumed 
a serious air, gave them a severe reprimand, and sent them 
out with a notice that they were not to quit their ships. 
They did not wait for any second bidding to be off; the 
Admiralty dungeons are no enviable quarters, and those 
who find their way into them rarely leave except for the 
cross or the gallows. 

Returning to the quay, I passed along the subterranean 
passage to the arsenal, and spent the remainder of the day 
in directing the repairs of my ships. By the evening 
everything was finished; and I was so gratified by the 
rapidity with which the work had been done, that in my 
good humour I not only forgave my four men who were in 
disgrace, but allowed them, on promise of good behaviour, 
to have another holiday on the following day. 

For myself, I resolved to spend that day in an expedi- 
tion to a small temple of Baal-Hamon, a short distance 
from the city, and to take with me no companion whatever 
except my friend Barca’s old Libyan slave. 

This temple is situated in the gloomy recesses of a 
forest ; it is oblong in shape, and has neither door nor 
window ; its only external aperture is a hole in the roof to 
allow an escape for the smoke of the sacrifices ; and it is 
entered by an underground passage, the mouth of which 
is closed by a large stone concealed by the brushwood. 
Three old and half-naked Libyans were waiting outside, and 
afte- a brief consultation, in whispers, with the slave I had 


202 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





brought with me, quietly raised the stone and pointed te 
the orifice. I entered the passage, followed by the men, 
and in a short time found myself in a small dim chamber, 
in the further wall of which was a flat stone, which turned 
on a hinge and formed a door, just affording room to pass, 
and opening into a second chamber, that was at once 
misty and red with the glare of two smoking lamps. Let 
into the wall of this compartment was another flat stone 
with a hole in its centre, which one of the men turned 
slightly round upon its pivot, allowing me to peep into a 
third chamber, which was a mere cell, containing a niche, 
where a shapeless notched stone was deposited, which my 
guide informed me was the god himself. In obedience to 
the directions that were given me, I prostrated myself 
three times before the deity, and remained waiting where 
I was. After a time, a black sheep that I had brought 
with me was conducted into the cell, and slaughtered 
before the niche in such a way that its blood flowed into 
a hollowed stone let into the ground to receive it. When 
the sacrifice was finished, the stone was turned back, 
shutting the god with his newly-slain victim into the inner 
cell. I was told to apply my ear to the hole in the 
stone, and to listen for the voice of the deity. The lamps 
were then extinguished, and I was left in silence and in 
total darkness. 

Presently a deep muffled voice, that seemed to issue 
from the abysses of the earth, came to my ear: 

“Phoenician mariner, what wouldst thou ask of me ?” 

Awestruck, I could scarcely speak, but making an effort 
to reply, I said: 

“Oracle of Hamon! I would know whether it be possible 
to sail westward beyond the Straits of Gades, and whether 
there is land.” 

“There is land,” the voice repeated. 

“Ts it to be found north, west, or south ?” I inquired. 

“There is land to the north, there is land to the west, 
there is land to the south,” the oracle replicd. 


S 


rIME 


le IPE aap 
jl 

Unig 

ee 


EE 


R 


H 


Le RTO rvapizey 
Le 


cP] iy sh 


E 


D MYS 


STRATE 


$ Whe 
Wis dip 


Wey, 


Md: 

5 rz 
Chine 
ii My, 


I PRC 


Sina 
Uh god, 


ee 





Aap 
feet 


Wiss, 


"a 
_ “Sys ba 
a ae 


is 
iu 


So 


ay Ses 
9 ; 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 203 





Emboldened by the answers I obtained, I asked again: 

“And the proper route—is it by the sacred promontory, 
or must I sight the head of Gades ?” 

“ Mortal!” the voice declared, ‘ you ask more than it is 
permitted mortal to know. Go; I tell no more.” 

The stone doorway turned on its hinge, and we groped 
our way back through the gloom out into the open air. 
I recompensed the attendants liberally, and returned to 
the city—perplexed, it is true, but confirmed in my reso- 
lution to explore the ocean and seek for land, far or near, 
beyond the Straits of Gades. 

In the course of our walk back, I inquired of my com- 
panion whether there were many of these subterranean 
temples in Zeugis and Byzatium. He told me that in the 
interior there were several very much more elaborate, with 
arches and domes, but they were not nearly so ancient ; the 
true temples of the Atlantides were all like the one which 
we had just left. Some there were, indeed, that were still 
more simple, consisting only of three stones, flat and un- 
hewn, of which two were placed upright on their ends, 
and the third laid horizontally across them; others were 
formed of stones arranged in a long covered avenue. Of 
these, some were in the open air and some concealed under 
mounds of earth, at the top of which several stones were 
reared, while round the base circles of still larger stones 
were grouped symmetrically. No doubt some of these 
erections were not temples, but tombs, and were occasion- 
ally found in such numbers as to cover a large extent of 
cround, and were laid out in set figures, representing men, 
serpents, eggs, and scorpions. 

Such was the Libyan’s account of his religious edifices. 
When, however, I began to question him about their sig- 
nification, and why some were underground and some 
above, and what was the design of their peculiar construc- 
tion, I could elicit nothing from him but that it was the 
result of magic, of which his people had inherited the great 
secret from their forefathers. 


204 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Early the following morning, with the suffect’s per: 
mission, I set to work to take in a supply of fresh water 
from the fine cisterns on the quays. Each cistern is 
divided into two compartments; one to collect the rain- 
‘water in its turbid condition from the paved streets, the 
other to receive the same water when it has undergone 
the process of filtration; the two tanks being connected 
by square-headed cocks turned by a wooden key. All 
the private houses, as well as the public buildings, in the 
towns, are provided with cisterns of a similar construction, 
the country villages being supplied with water from open 
tanks formed by two circular compartments, of which one 
acts as a receptacle and the other as a reservoir. 

Hannibal, who had been paying a visit to the ramparts, 
returned highly gratified with what he had seen. He in- 
formed me that all the forts were built upon cisterns, and 
that the rubble-work of the walls was twenty-four cubits 
thick at their base, and eighteen at their top; that the 
soldiers’ quarters were on the second and third storeys, 
out of the reach of the battering rams, and built in the 
thickness of the walls ; also that about three-quarters of a 
bowshot in advance of the inner line there was a wall half 
the height, and outside this again a strong palisade, with a 
moat and intrenchment. He thought, however, that his 
eye had been keen enough to discover one weak point to 
the right of the city, where the arsenal was overlooked 
by an adjacent hill, and I concurred in his opinion that 
another fort ought to be built upon the wall to cover any 
attack from the eminence. 

The sundial on the Admiralty palace marked the hour of 
noon when, having made my roli-call, and satisfied myself 
that my men were all on board, I went to take leave of 
Adonibal. The aged suffect bade me a kind farewell, and 
wished me a prosperous voyage. I lost no time in giving 
the signal for departure, and as we left the harbour we 
raised a hearty cheer for the admiral, who was watching us 
from his balcony. [Tour other vessels, heavily freightcd 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 205 


- 





and bound for Massalia, at the mouth of the Rhone, left 
Utica immediately after us. 

The distance from Utica to the Straits of Gades is 880a 
stadia, and by fast vessels can be accomplished in about a 
week. A strong west wind, however, had made the sea so 
turbulent that all navigation was very difficult, and it was 
not until after four days that we sighted the Cabiri (or the 
Seven Capes), a point which is usually reached in two ; 
and even then, in order to clear the promontory, we were 
obliged to make such long tacks that we quite lost sight 





of land, and were carried far towards the north. But at 
length, on the seventh day, I recognised the first great 
cape! on the mainland, south of the Pityusai Islands. 

“Tarshish!” shouted Himilco, who had been so fully 
occupied that he had scarcely spoken before. ‘¢ Tarshish at 
Jase.” 

There was a rush to the deck; but so blinding were the 
rain and the spray, that it was impossible to distinguish 
anything on shore. 

1 Now Cape Palos 


206 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





I had taken in enough water to last us for a fortnight, 
and it was well that I had done so, for we found our- 
selves experiencing the difficulty, not at all infrequent, of 
approaching this dangerous coast, and had to continue to 
make very long tacks. 

After three days’ perpetual struggle with the elements we 
were still off the Libyan coast, but the wind then moderated, 
and the rain gave place to sunshine. In the course of the 
next night Himilco and I, whilst well-nigh every one was 
asleep, recognised the tall perpendicular peaks of Calpe and 
Abyla, and soon afterwards we passed under the wall of 
rock that forms the southern limit of Tarshish; by the 
morning we were within sight of the level tongue of land 
south of the magnificent bay of Gades_ All along the 
headland rose the white domes and terraces of the town, 
imbedded in luxuriant foliage; high above all was the 
semaphore beside the temple of Ashtoreth. As we entered 
the basin of what serves equally for trade-harbour and war- 
port, our trumpets were sounded, and we saluted the town 
with three ringing cheers. 

We had reached our goal, and were in Tarshish at last. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 207 





CHAPTER. XIT 
THE SILVER MINES OF TARSHISH. 


THE town of Gades, though not large, is neat and trimly 
built, and in the well-kept gardens in the environs, pome- 
granates, oranges, and lemons, which have all been in- 
troduced by the Phcenicians, flourish in great abundance. 
About the centre of the town, and in direct communication 
with the harbour, is the market, the emporium not only for 
the wedges of silver brought from the mines in the interior, 
but for barrels of the salted murene that are caught on the 
neighbouring shore ; for Tarshish cats,’ to be used in rabbit- 
hunting ; for iron, which is obtained in small quantities 
from the north; and for the promiscuous curiosities in which 
the strange and remote region abounds. The market-place 
is surrounded by the offices of the rich merchants and 
money-changers, who, as proprietors of the mines, were 
ready to exchange their silver for copper, manufactured 
articles, and fancy goods. I was not long in making my 
way thither. 

Having seen my ships properly moored in the places 
assigned them at the quay, handed their pay to my seamen 
and soldiers, and notified my arrival to the naval suffect, I 
turned into the thoroughfare that leads to the town, and had 
no difficulty in finding the office of Balshazzar, the rich 
merchant with whom I had had many business transactions 
during my previous visit. Balshazzar was dead, but Ziba, 
his widow, was carrying on the business in partnership with 


1 The ancient name of ferrets. 


208 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





several other merchants. She received me very cordially, 
and insisted that I should send for the two women, and for 
my sub-captains and pilots, to come and take refreshment 
at her house. She provided a handsome entertainment, 
during which I had the opportunity of explaining to her 
the object of my voyage, and of asking her advice as to the 
best means of obtaining silver, either in lumps oringots. I 
found that, according to her statement, the current price of 
silver was just then very low, so that I might hope to 
purchase on favourable terms, either in the town, or by 
going inland and bartering with the savages. Some large 
mines, she informed me, had quite recently been discovered 
on the River Beetis,’ about four days’ march up the country, 
and the only reason why they had not been opened and 
worked was the scarcity of labour; the great bulk of the 
population of the town being either merchants or mariners. 

“We ought,” she concluded, “to have plenty of soldiers 
stationed here.” 

“Beyond a question,” exclaimed Hannibal, warmly, “the 
prosperity of a country is to be measured by the number of 
soldiers it maintains.” 

Ziba’s long residence in the colonies had rendered her 
quite unaccustomed to the ideas and manners of military 
men, and she looked at him in some amazement. 

“Yes,” she said, “we do require a large number of slaves, 
soldiers, and transported felons here.” 

It was now Hannibal’s turn to look amazed. 

“Soldiers and felons! What do you mean? Do you 
suppose that soldiers are to be associated with slaves and 
malefactors ?” 

In explanation of her remark, she said that in order to 
establish a firm footing in the silver-producing districts, she 
thought that the merchants ought to club together, and cither 
buy or hire soldiers to drive back the native barbarians. 
The prisoners they took ought to be sent to the mines, and 
to these there should be added as many slaves as could 


} The Guadalquivir. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 204 





be bought, and any number of transported criminals who 
would cost nothing but their keep. 

Seeing that Hannibal was about to make some indignant 
rejoinder, I interposed by asking her whether it was possible 
to obtain slaves here, and whether the natives were hostile 
or well-disposed. 

“Not a slave will you find in the market,” she said ; 
“they have been purchased as fast as they have been 
brought to us. As to the savages, they have hithertc 
been tolerably peaceable; but, aware of the value we set 
upon their silver, they demand most exorbitant wages for 
their labour.” 

“Peaceable you call them, do you?” broke in Himilco ; 
and pointing to the empty socket of his eye, said, “ Yes; 
perhaps if using their lances to scoop out people’s eyes 
is a proof of peaceableness, the Iberians of Tarshish are 
supremely peaceable; but I confess I don’t quite see it.” 

Ziba smiled. Although she was a thorough woman of 
business, she had a keen appreciation of a joke. 

“Yes, pilot,” she replied; “I very well recollect your 
misfortune when you were here before; indeed, it was I 
myself who dressed your wounds with oil and rosemary. 
But you may take my word for it that the tribes on the 
Beetis are far more anxious to take your goods than to do 
you any bodily injury. In time, I have no doubt, they 
will become perfectly submissive to our rule.” 

“And then,” I exclaimed, “ Tarshish, like Zeugis, will 
be one of the brightest jewels in the crown of our glorious 
Sidon.” 

And every one, as I spoke, filled and drained his wine- 
cup to the honour of our noble city. 

“But to return to business,” said Ziba; “I think that 
the best plan for you will be to come with me to the naval 
sutfect, who may probably suggest some plan by which 
you can get labour to open some fresh mines. The Beetis 
is quite wide cnough to allow your ships to ascend within 
a day’s march of the best districts, and your soldiers and 

ie 


210 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





sailors ought to be quite enough to protect you from any 
hostilities on the part of the Iberians.” 

I readily acquiesced in her proposal; and the widow, 
having put on a veil, mounted a richly-caparisoned mule 
led by two well-dressed slaves, and preceded by a running 
footman carrying a long staff. She went in front, and we 
all sallied forth after her to the Admiralty palace. The 
suffect received us in the large hall, where he was seated in 
his painted chair; and when I had explained the object of 
my visit, he said ; 


( ~ 
=) 





“Had you come four days sooner, you might have 
arranged to accompany a Tyrian merchant who passed 
through this port on his way to the mines.” 

The suspicion flashed instantly on my mind, and I said . 

“You mean Bodmilcar ?” 

Ves.’ replied the suiieet. ““Rodmilcars. “and.sa: tare 
rough-looking set he had with him. We are not generally 
very particular in looking into the character of men who 
go to the diggings, but I confess I never set eyes upon a 
worse-looking lot. They looked like thieves and assassins.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPIrAIN MAGO. 211 





“Just what they were,” I said; “and their leader is no 
better than themselves. You have only to read this, and 
you will learn what he really is;” and I handed him 
Adonibal’s letter. 

“By Ashtoreth!” he swore, “what a scoundrel the 
fellow is!” 

After pondering a few minutes, he continued: 

“T will tell you what I can do. I will lend you fifty 
armed men to help you to improve the villain off the face 
of the earth. I would, if I could, lend you more, as fF 
know how advisable it is for expeditions into the interior 
to be well guarded ; all kinds of people are at work in the 
mines, and nothing is easicr for them than to conspire to 
overpower a new comer. But I really cannot spare any 
more. The time will come, I hope, when we shall have 
reinforcements enough here to make our authority properly 
felt in the mining districts.” 

Ziba now mentioned that she had made a contract with 
one of the Iberian chiefs, narned Aitz, by which he had 
eigaged to find porters and labourers to assist the twelve 
hundred slaves which she had provided to excavate the 
soil of a new mine; and having explained that she had 
erected a fortress in which were stationed a hundred 
soldiers, and put up a residence for an overseer of the 
works, she said that she was perfectly willing to hand 
over the contract to me under certain conditions. She 
was ready to surrender her sole interest, to give me an 
introduction to her overseer, and to allow me the pro- 
tection of her little garrison, if I would stipulate to pay 
her a fifth part of the gross profits. 

The suffect seemed to think that the proposal was 
reasonable; but I demurred to the proportion of the 
profits which she demanded, and insisted upon her ac- 
cepting a sixth instead of a fifth. 

After a short debate, which ended in Ziba’s yielding to 
my terms, I made Hanno draw out two copies of th> 
agreement which we mutually signed, and then all ad. 


212 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





journed to the temple of Ashtoreth, where we offered a 
sacrifice to the goddess, and made a vow to remain 
faithful to the various covenants of the contract. 

The time of the year was very favourable, and I was 
anxious to lose no time in starting. Accordingly, four 
days did not elapse after our arrival at Gades before our 
ships were again on the sea, making way towards the 
mouth of the Boetis, which we reached after two days’ easy 
sailing. 

Beyond the Straits of Gades the sea is subject to tides 
which are even more considerable than those in the Jam 
Souph, and it was necessary to wait until high-water before 
we could pass the bar of the river. As soon, however, as 
the bar was passable, the river presented a very animated 
scene, and vessels of every description got into motion, 
both ascending and descending the stream; Phoenician 
craft, from the ponderous gaoul to the slim fishing-smack ; 
Iberian piroques, carrying their great brown or black sails 
of woven bark ; and the long Celtic coracles, composed of. 
hide. Of all these, none were empty ; whatever provisions 
are consumed in the mining regions have ail to be brought 
from Gades, and the same ships that convey the supplies 
into the interior always return laden with the ore. 

Having crossed the bar, as there was no wind and the 
current was strong, I lowered my sails and rowed up 
the river. The yellow waters of the river flow rapidly be- 
tween banks that are sometimes wooded and sometimes 
barren flats. The country on both sides is mountainous 
and wild, and only at long intervals are to be seen any 
of the Iberian villages, which, consisting of hovels made of 
mud and branches of trees, are most frequently nothing 
more than roofs to hcles which have been dug in the 
ground. The miners’ villages are very similar, the chief 
difference being that the huts are higher and more com- 
modious, and in the centie of each community there is a 
palisade enclosing a redoubt, or embattled fortress built of 
brick, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 213 


“ Not particularly lively here,” said Hanno; “the getting 
of silver seems rather a more dreary business than the 
spending of it.” 

Hannibal remarked that all the villages seemed to 
occupy positions that were naturally very strong, observ- 
ing that the Beetis itself formed a good line of defence, 
and that there might be a great deal of hard fighting in 
such a country. 

“T can answer for that,” said Himilco; “I know that 
these Tarshish barbarians would sooner pluck out a man’s 
eye than give him a cup of wine. Here come some of the 
rascals. Look at them.” 

Every one looked where Himilco was pointing, and there, 
walking, or rather shambling, along the bank were rather 
more than a score of savage-looking creatures evidently 
watching our ships. They were almost naked, their only 
covering being a strip of woven bark around their loins, 
and a sort of turban of the same material on their heads ; 
they had sunburnt skins, black hair, and small black 
eyes, obliquely set; they were of moderate height, and ap- 
peared to be extremely agile. But we observed that some 
of them seemed to be quite of a distinct race, being very 
tall and thin, with thick shaggy beards and very revolting 
countenances. All were armed with long shields, and 
carried either bludgeons, slings, or strong lances pointed 
with flint or bone. 

I shouted to them, but they made no sign, and continued 
skulking along the bank. 

“Bichri!” cried Himilco, to the archer, who was sitting 
on the poop with Jonah, both of them playing with the 
monkey, “ Bichri, just put an arrow into one of those scara- 
mouches, will you? they pretend they cannot hear the 
captain.” 

He started to his feet, and was in the act of raising his 
bow, when I interposed : 

“Leave them alone ; time enough to attack them when 
they attack us.” 





214 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Bichri lowered his hand at once. 

“Well then,” he said, “I may as well go on amusing 
myself with the monkey ; what an entertaining. brute it is! 
he pulls my hair and scratches my face a bit; but I bear 
it all because he’s so clever.” 

“ Aye, aye, go back to your plaything; he’s about as 
good-looking as the Iberians,” said Hanno, laughing. 

My brave young archer was not much more than eighteen 
years of age, and in light-heartedness and love of frolic 
was like a boy of twelve. The monkey, the only creature 
on board more restless than himself, had taken his fancy 
immensely, and they were continually vying with one 
another in feats of agility, trying which could climb the 
mast the faster, or which could swing the higher at the 
end of arope. Another of Judge Gebal’s warm admirers 
was Jonah. The giant seemed to have lost his concern 
about the land of strange beasts, and to be engrossed with 
the monkey, which he had admitted into his close friend- 
ship, and whose antics he was always rewarding with the 
choicest tit-bits on which he could lay hands. One of the 
creature's great delights was to mount the trumpeter’s 
shoulder and clamber by his shaggy hair to the top of 
his head, where from its elevated perch it would make 
grimaces, scratch its pate, and grin and gnash its teeth 
at every one. Bichri, Jonah, and the monkey, thus formed 
an amicable trio, of which a little rough treatment all 
round, and a few cuffs and scratches, did not mar the 
general concord. 

Towards evening by my orders we came to a standstill, 
opposite a miners’ village. The overseer came out from 
his hut to speak to us. He was a coarse, ill-spoken man, 
rarely opening his mouth without an oath. He was a 
native of Arvad, and consequently an old acquaintance of 
TLannibal’s. 

“ By all the infernal gods!” he began, “this is a wee'x ot 
visitors |” 

“ How so?” I asked, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 215 





“Confound me, if we hadn’t another Tyrian here five 
days ago! Bodmilcar was his name; and a rascally set of 
scamps he brought. Drunken beasts they were; they 
sacked some houses in the village here, and, by Khousor 
Phtah! I vow they would have murdered us every one if 
we had not pounced upon them pretty hard. I have seen 
blackguards in my time, but never the like of those. And 
if any one can succeed in swinging up Bodmilcar himself 
at a rope’s end, he will do the world a service.” 

“Where is he now?” I asked ; “can you tell me that? 
I have a score of my own to settle with him.” 

“By the gods! you will have some distance to go. He 
has taken a swarm of Iberians with him into the interior. 
You had better be careful how you meddle with them: 
they are dangerous folks to touch; and they are a pretty 
strong force altogether.” 

“Never mind their force,” said Chamai; “numbers don't 
matter ; only let us get them within reach of our swords.” 

“ All very fine for you, young fellow, to be so cocksure of 
your game,” replied the overscer; and turning to me, he 
added, civilly enough: “But I see you are determined to 
risk the consequences. Give me a drink of wine, and by 
the gods! I will give you some hints that may be useful to 
you. Silver is silver, you know.” 

“Yes, and wine is wine,’ muttered Himilco, always keenly 
interested upon that topic. 

I ordered a skin of good wine to be produced, that he 
might drink while we talked over our scheme ; but the over- 
seer had no wish to be outdone on the score of hospitality ; 
and accordingly he clapped his hands sharply, and when 
the manager of his slaves appeared in answer to the 
summons, he gave instructions for one of his finest calves 
to be killed, and a feast to be laid out for us under an 
adjacent clump of trees. 

After we had given each other the latest news of 
Pheenicia and Tarshish, the overseer said in his own 
abrupt way : 


216 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“You seem brave enough; but I have a great respect for 
numbers. Your wine is good stuff, and I like it. I am 
glad to meet a fellow-townsman. Now, in return for the 
wine, curse me if I don’t do the best I can to help you.” 

After all, he had not much te tell. He informed us that 
in the territory adjacent to that of Aitz, who had made his 
compact with Ziba, there were some exceedingly rich veins 
of silver ; and that, although the Iberians in possession were 
decidedly disposed to be hostile, they might readily be 
bought over by some trumpery merchandise, or without 
difficulty might be subdued by our arms. 

“And how near to them can we take our ships?” I 
asked. 

“Within three days’ march,” he answered. “It is not so 
much that the distance is great as that there are no roads ; 
and after the ships are left there is no further communication 
with the river. You have to go through forests, and you 
have to go on foot. No horses can go; no mules.” 

“Nice marching that!” said Hannibal, sententiously ; 
“and you say we have to take our own provisions ?” 

“As to that, I daresay you can get Ziba’s overseer to 
lend you some Iberians; they make capital beasts of 
burden.” 

“Very good,” said Himilco; “and I think I can under- 
take to make them trot along at a good pace. Give me a 
stick, and I will write a few words of their Iberian tongue 
upon their backs in a way they will perhaps remember.” 

The overseer seemed to enjoy Himilco’s spiteful jest, for 
he laughed aloud. We emptied our wine-cups, and broke 
up our meeting. 

Betimes next morning we were again on our voyage up 
the river, and in less than a day had reached Ziba’s territory. 
Her overseer, a native of Utica, lent me two hundred slaves 
as porters and miners, and I divided them into gangs, which 
I put under the supervision of my officers. The ships, with 
just a sufficient portion of thcir crews, were left under the 
charge of Hasdrubal; the Dagon and the Ashéoreth 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 217 





descending the river for a short distance to get a better 
anchorage ; the Cadzros, as drawing less water, being left 
under orders to cruise about, and to keep on collecting a 
supply of provisions. We had been provided with a guide ; 
and everything being arranged, I set out upon my ex- 
ploration of the new territory. 

We started across an extensive plateau, and having 
traversed several woods and deep ravines, made our encamp- 
ment for the night. Very monotonous were the journeys of 
the following days, over gloomy hills and across deep valleys, 
and it was not until the middle of the fourth day after 
leaving the banks of the Beetis, that we caught sight of an 
Iberian village. The people were all under arms when we 
arrived, and inclined to take a defiant attitude, but a few 
presents had the effect of conciliating the chiefs, and in- 
ducing them to give us permission to encamp on a barren 
knoll, about three stadia off their cluster of huts. Under 
Hannibal’s superintendence we surrounded the encampment 
with a trench and a palisade, and in two days were ready 
to commence our digging operations, in which we were 
directed by an experienced man, who had been sent with us 
for the purpose, 

We were beginning an arduous task. For three long 
months did our labours proceed without intermission. The 
Iberians were always distrustful, but never committed any 
overt act of hostility. Yet, thanks to the favour of Ashtoreth, 
though our work was long, our success was great. Excava- 
tion after excavation turned out prolific, and as the result 
of our mining, I obtained no less than two thousand shekels 
of silver. Some of this I refined on the spot, and retained 
in my own keeping, the rest of the ore being periodically 
despatched by hired slaves to the Ashtoreth, whence I 
received back a written acknowledgment of each consign- 
ment as it was delivered on board. 

At length I felt it was time to re-organise my caravan to 
return; and under the direction of an Iberian guide, over 
whom a strict surveillance was kept, we set out upon ous 


218 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





way back to the ships, rejoicing to quit the desolation in 
which we had been sojourning so long. 

No sooner were our backs turned upon the encampment. 
than the Iberians rushed towards it, tore down the palisade, 
and scrambled furiously for any article, however worthless, 
that we happened to have left behind. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. ZIG 


ee 





CHAPTER XIV. 


AN AMBUSCADE, 


FOR twe days we continued our return march without any 
interruption, and reached the base of the steep ascent that 
leads to the plateau overlooking the river. 

The mounting of this height was a matter of no little 
difficulty. We had to climb like goats, clinging to rocks 
and tufts of brushwood, trampling down branches and 
dry grass, and hardly succeeded, after all, in following the 
track which the head of the caravan had opened. 

Suddenly, about half-way up thé slope, the ground sank 
abruptly, forming a deep ravine that had to be crossed 
before continuing the ascent. We paused at its brink to 
recover our breath. Behind us the long line of our sailors 
and porters was slowly filing through the thicket ; in front, 
yawned the precipitous ravine itself; and opposite to us 
rose the mountain-side, to its very summit a mass of 
sombre woods; several eagles were wheeling round above 
the chasm. 

“A fine place for an ambush!” said Hannibal, wiping 
the perspiration from his forehead, and little dreaming what 
was in store for us. 

Himilco took a draught from the goat-skin that he 
carried at his side, and heaved a long-drawn sigh : 

“Ah!” he said, “it was in just such a plaguy hole as 
this that I lost my eye ten years ago. I hope the hand 
that thrust the lance has been rotten long since.” 

My own experience of the dangers of the land of Tarshish 


1? 


220 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





made me very cautious, and with the approval of my twe 
military subordinates, I despatched Hanno and Jonah to 
the rear to call together the stragglers, and to collect any 
that might have lost their way in the woods; Bichri and 
his ten Benjamite archers, and Aminocles with his five 
companion Phocians, I sent on in front to make their way 
rapidly across the ravine, and to explore the forest on the 
opposite side. e 

Jonah’s trumpet was soon heard sounding its call, and 
very shortly afterwards Bichri and Aminocles were seen 
entering the wood beyond the hollow. Without suspecting 
that there was any cause for alarm, I ordered the guide 
(who was still being watched narrowly by my sailois) to 
advance, and we began our descent. Some of us had 
already reached the bottom, and the main body were 
making their way as best they could down the trouble- 
some incline, when the guide came to a sudden halt. He 
was about fifty paces ahead, just beginning to re-ascend the 
hollow. As soon as he stopped, a whistle was distinctly 
heard from the woods in front, and Himilco called out: 

“Look out, captain—look out! there’s mischief brewing.” 

I shouted with all my might to the guide to move on 
more briskly, and the sailor who had been put in charge of 
him was in the act of pushing him forward, when the 
savage made a sudden dive, felled the sailor to the ground, 
in two or three bounds cleared the intervening space, and 
disappeared in the adjoining thicket. 

“I told you so,” said Himilco; “I knew well enough 
that the Iberian scoundrels would be at their old games 
again.” 

While he spoke, Jonah’s trumpet sounding an alarm told 
only too plainly that the column was being attacked in the 
rear, and in front a frightful chorus of yells and war-cries 
was followed instantaneously by an avalanche of stones 
One of my poor sailors fell at my side with his skuli 
smashed, and all the native bearers who had entered the 
ravine threw down their loads and fled precipitately. 


=> 





AN AVALANCHE OF STONES. 


To face page 220. 


iD, 
ie 


ee : 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 221 





“Form a line!” shouted Hannibal to his men; and in 
spite of the storm of stones that was falling around him, 
the intrepid leader mounted a projecting rock, and brand- 
ishing his sword, vigorously rallied his force. A party of 
sailors made a body-guard about the two women, and 
Chamai, pale with rage and excitement, rushed with his 
sword drawn to Hannibal’s side. 

“What do you think of this?” said Himilco to me, 
pathetically, as he picked up a great stone that had fallen 
within a hand’s breadth of his side; “these Tarshish 
almonds seem to be falling pretty thick.” 

And as if in answer to his words, a second storm yet 
heavier than the first came pelting down amongst us, and 
knocked over several of our men; but this time it came 
from behind, from the quarter of the ravine that we had 
just quitted, and showed us that we were assailed as much 
in our rear as in front. 

“O, if only we had some cavalry and some chariots, 
began Hannibal; “how easy to turn both flanks like the 
Khetas! did with the Assyrians, We would send our 
cavalry to the right, and our chariots to the left, and a 
free passage for our own centre should soon be forced.” 

‘But considering we have no cavalry and no chariots,” 
I said, interrupting him, “we must defend ourselves how 
we can.” 

Without taking any notice of what I had said, he was 
proceeding to expatiate upon the advantages and dis- 
advantages of our position, when a huge stone struck his 
helmet, knocking off the crest and battering in the head- 
piece, and enforced upon him more effectually than I 
had done the necessity of abandoning theory for practice. 
lor an instant he staggered with the shock, but quickly 
recovcring himself, he roared out : 

“By Nergal! this won’t do. Holy El-Adonai! this is 


” 


' The Hittites of the Bible. Kheta was the general name given by the 
Egyptians to the Semitic tribes. 
* B.C, 1070 


222 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





too much. They must pay the penalty for this. Archers : 
quick! up the slopes! shoot every one who attempts tc 
enter the ravine!” 

And turning to me, he cried: 

“Captain, will you take your sailors back again up the 
very path by which you came down, and sweep round to 
those vagabonds who are harassing our rear ?” 

“ Men of Judah,” he continued, “ follow Chamai. Chamai, 
lead them yonder to the left. And now, my men, to the 
right with me. Forward !” 

“Forward to the left! long live the King!” shouted 
Chamai at the full pitch of his lungs, as he obeyed orders, 
and led off his company in the direction contrary to 
Hannibal. 

The archers under Hamilcar formed a circle round the 
women and the baggage, and were a guard for the bottom 
of the ravine ; Himilco and Gisgo, with my party, regained 
the ridge we had so recently quitted ; and thus on every 
side we presented a front to the enemy. 

No sooner had we scaled the side of the ridge, than my 
men, cutlass in hand, began to lay about them vigorously. 
The half-naked men of Tarshish, armed only with clumsy 
bludgeons or wooden-pointed lances, could make no stand 
against our sharp weapons, and fell in numbers beneath 
our blows; and although crowds of them disappeared 
behind the thickets, we did not break our compact mass 
to go in pursuit, but pushed on straight ahead. Concealed 
and protected by the underwood, many of the foe con- 
tinued to follow us, and to hurl javelins at us from piles 
that had been secreted ready for the purpose. When, 
however, we came to any open patch, clear of trees, a 
detachment of our men would make a dash into the brush- 
wood in the hope of capturing some of the stragglers; but 
the savages were generally much too fleet of foot to allow 
themselves to be caught, and only about fifteen altogether 
were secured in this way. To these no quarter was given. 

Although we had advanced two stadia, we found ne 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 221 





traces of Hanno and Jonah. I did not consider it ad- 
visable to go further, and made my men halt and form a 
circle round a large oak that stood alone in a little glade ; 
but Himilco, whose vengeance seemed insatiable, ventured on 
for about another stadium, with Gisgo and fifteen sailors. It 
was somewhat more than an hour before they returned. They 
had caught and killed two of the Iberians, but what created 
a far greater interest for us, they had found Hanno’s writing- 
case all covered with blood, lying in a copse with the dead 
bodies of nine or ten of our adversaries, and the mutilated 
corpse of one of our own sailors. The trampled soil, the 
pools of blood, and the carcases of the savages strewn all 





about rendered it only too probable that after a desperate 
struggle the scribe and poor Jonah had succumbed to 
numbers, and that they had not only been massacred, but 
their bodies had been carried away. 

It was with saddened hearts that we made our way back 
to the spot where we had been first surprised, repelling our 
enemies all along as they persisted in harassing us. As 
soon as I reached the ridge, and had satisfied myself that 
the women and the troop around them were all safe, I closed 
in my ranks and told up my losses. Six of my men had 
fallen. Meanwhile I was beginning to feel very uneasy 
about both Hannibal and Chamai, but my anxicty was of 
no long duration; they soon appeared together on the 


224 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





opposite height of the chasm: Bichri, too, was with thern, 
and the troops were in good order. They had nearly forty 
prisoners; and in the midst of the ranks I could see 
Aminocles marching along with a child in his arms, whilst 
amongst the captives I could distinguish a woman, two 
men wearing kitonets, and another dressed in a long 
Syrian robe. Hannibal was in front, and no sooner did he 
catch sight of me than he waved his sword over his head 
with a triumphant gesture, while Chamai, still more excited, 
with his head bare and his forehead covered with blood, 
began running rapidly towards me. I made pretence of 
looking another way as he stopped to kiss Abigail in 
passing, but in a minute or two he was at my side, his 
countenance beaming with joy. All out of breath, he ex- 
claimed : 

‘Close quarters! but we have pretty well done for them 
now!” 

Seeing the deep gash in his forehead and _ his blood- 
stained sword, I observed that he bore evident traces of a 
smartish tussle with the Iberians. 

“Tberians!” he said, contemptuously ; “who cares for 
Iberians? No; it is our Tyrians that have done the mis- 
chief. However, we have nabbed the scoundrel Hazael ; 
and Aminocles has recovered his boy ; he was only just in 
time to save the child’s life.” 

“ And Bodmilcar ? what of him ?” I asked, all excitement 
at the information. 

“Ah! we have just missed him,” he said ; “ Hannibal got 
near enough to slice him pretty sharply in the ribs, and if 
it had not been for this unlucky wound of mine, we should 
have had him here now ; but his people contrived to rescue 
him, and to carry him off to the wood.” 

Half-frantic with agitation, and impatient to exact ven- 
geance on my hated adversary, I forgot all about our 
perilous position, my scattered ingots, and the fate of my 
unfortunate scribe, and declared to Chamai that without 
the loss of an hour we must go in pursuit. and get Rod- 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 225 





milcar dead or alive. Across the ravine, off I started) 
bidding who would to follow. 

Himilco had shown Chryscis the writing-case, stained as 
it was with blood, and a very few words had sufficed te 
make her realise what were the fears we entertained upon 
the scribe’s behalf. She said nothing, but while Abigail 
grasped her waist and wept tears of sympathy, she walked 
steadily along, her hands tightly clenched, and giving no 
other outward sign of emotion than a slight convulsive 
movement of the shoulders. Chamai, whom I had omitted 





to inform of the too likely fate of Hanno and Jonah, hur- 
riedly asked Himilco what had become of them, but the 
piJot only answered by a significant shake of the head, 
and by pointing to the woods behind. 

As I drew near to Hannibal, he advanced rapidly to 
erect me. Tle seemed in high spirits, and although he was 
evidently affected by the intelligence we gave him about 
Hanno, he endeavoured to disguise his feelings by saying 
that we must all submit to the chances of war. 

“ But what’s to be done next?” he added, quick 


ly 
Q 


226 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





I told him that I was determined at all hazards to go ir 
pursuit of Bodmilcar, who must not be suffered to escape. 

“ Easier said than done,” replied Hannibal. ‘“ Bodmilcar 
not only had a large force of Phoenician criminals and de- 
serters, but when he attacked us he had a regular swarm of 
savages, all armed either with clubs or javelins. At any 
rate, he can keep his distance. I know not whether he is 
alive or dead ; but I know this, that the fellows have found 
out that it is not to their advantage to tackle us in close 
quarters. However, we are too few to surround them, and 
to pursue them is only to expose ourselves to another 
ambush.” 

“ What is to be done, then ?” I asked, gnashing my teeth 
with vexation. 

“You must get to the top of the hill before night,’ he 
answered, decidedly ; “you must reach the open plain ; you 
must not run the risk of another surprise. Once on the 
plateau you are secure ; you can rest your men and give 
them food; they are knocked up. And you will have time 
to interrogate your prisoners.” 

Chagrined as I was, I could not resist the conviction that 
Hannibal’s advice was judicious, and, however reluctantly, 
gave up all thought of immediate pursuit. I directed that 
the prisoners should be fastened together by a rope passed 
round their necks, and that forty men should be told off 
under Himilco for a guard, with orders to kill the first man 
that showed the least sign of resistance. 

“You may trust me for that,” said the pilot, with a vin- 
dictive grin ; “they have only left me onc cye, but that is 
a sharp one.” 

When the captives had been securely bound, I had all 
the packages and silvcr collected that had been left strewn 
about by the runaway porters. 

“ There will be a double load for each of these scoundrels 
to carry,” I remarked ; “I shall take good care not to trust 
Iberians ‘vith my property again till | have seen them well 
fctiered.:: 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 227 





The baggage was gathered without the occurrence of any 
renewed attack, and Gisgo returned from the wood bran- 
dishing a stout cudgel that he had cut from the bough of 
an oak. 

“ Here’s something to make them stir their legs a bit!” 
he said, as he saw the men loaded with their burdens. 

“ Now then, get on, you brutes!” Himilco screamed in 
Iberian ; “and the first rogue that shirks his work is a dead 
man!” 

Placing the prisoners in the middle, we proceeded 
cautiously to continue our ascent; and while we were 
prosecuting our toilsome march, I asked Bichri to give me 
full particulars about the encounter with Bodmilcar. 

“ As accurately as I can,” he said, “I will. On leaving 
you we advanced without obstruction some hundred paces 
into the wood, when in a moment we found ourselves 
with a host of Iberians in our front, and as many in our 
rear, pelting us with stones and darts. We ran full speed 
to a spot where the trees were not so thick, and planting 
our backs against a projecting rock, we stood on our defence ; 
but almost directly afterwards we espied a troop of soldiers 
dashing down towards us. They were Bodmilcar and his 
miscreants. There seemed no hope for us: in a few minutes 
we must have been overpowered; but, happily, Hannibal 
and Chamai made their appearance, and a desperate fray 
ensued. I saw Bodmilcar fall to the ground ; Chamai had 
all but secured him, when he was cut down by a cutlass, 
and the Tyrians seized their opportunity to carry off their 
chief, the barbarians covering their retreat, and hurling an 
incessant shower of missiles. But we were rescued.” 

I had listened with cager attention to Bichri’s story, and 
as he came to a pause, [ asked: 

“But how about Hazael, and the woman and the 
childs 

‘Patience, and you shall hear,” he said. “We resolved 
to go in pursuit of our foc, who, we had no doubt, was 
seriously wounded, and we had got into the thick of the 


228 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO 





forest, when we came upon a pile of wood with a child lying 
bound on the top of it. Fourteen or fifteen soldiers were 
standing round, and Hazael, with a long knife in his hand. 
was on the very point of slaying the child, while two men 
were forcibly dragging off a woman, who had evidently 
thrown herself across its body. The very instant that 
Aminocles caught sight of the victim, he shrieked aloud 
‘My son, my son!’ and dashed like a madman into the 
group; we all rushed after him, and Hazael, seeing that he 
was in danger, made a lunge at the child with his knife and 
took to his heels. However, I was too quick for him, and 
soon had him back again. Meanwhile Aminocles and my 
archers had made short work with the other men, and the 
boy, who had fainted, was set free by cutting the cords that 
fastened him, and was found to have sustained no very 
serious injury. The woman, too, who had been endeavouring 
to ward off the blow of the knife, was recognised by one of 
the Phocians as the wife whom he had lost. Altogether, 
considering we have captured the eunuch, saved the child, 
and restored a man his wife, I do not know that we have 
done a bad day’s work.” 

But changing his tone, Bichri added, mournfully : 

“And yet how it saddens all to think about poor 
Hanno and our big friend Jonah. I loved them both, poor 
fellows! I wonder what has become of old Gebal. Is he 
gone too ?” 

I said that I had very little doubt the monkey had been 
on his usual perch upon the trumpeter’s shoulder, and so 
most probably had shared his fate. Bichri drew a long 
sigh, which seemed to convey the impression that he was 
almost as much concerned at the loss of the monkey as he 
was moved by the fate of his comrades. 

We had now reached the plateau. It was a dreary plain, 
dotted at rare intervals with a few trees and tufts of thistles, 
and as far as I could estimate, about twelve stadia from the 
BReetis. Our supply of fresh water being nearly exhausted, 
we were obliged to be very frugal with it at our evening 


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To face page 229. 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 22g 





meal; but as soon as this was finished, and Hannibal had 
posted his sentinels and had all lights extinguished, I 
summoned Hazael before me. I took my seat, supported 
on either side by my officers and pilots, making Bichri, 
Aminocles and his son, and the Phocian with his wife, 
likewise be present. 

The prisoner was brought forward, pale and trembling ; 
his hands were tied behind his back, and his embroidered 
robe was torn and soiled with dust and blood. 

“You know me?” I roared out to him as he approached. 

“Yes, my lord,” he faltered out in a quivering voice, 
without lifting his eyes from the ground. 

“And you know your conduct towards me?” I roared 
again. 

The culprit made no answer. 

“Do you suppose I took you with me that you should 
plot against me in Egypt, at Utica, at Gades ?” 

He still gave no reply. 

“What made you dare to try and kill that child?” I 
said. 

“T was under orders,” he whined out ; “ Bodmilcar made 
me. He wanted to sacrifice to Moloch to secure his favour. 
I dared not disobey him ; he has had me in his power all 
along. It is not I, it is Bodmilcar that has wronged 
you.” 

“Q that matters not,” I answered. “Curses on Bod- 
milcar! Would you save your life? One way, one only 
way is open to you still.” 

The despicable Syrian prostrated himself till his face 
was on the earth, and groaned out: 

“Spare me! spare my life! ask what. you will! trample 
on my neck! make me your slave for ever! but spare my 
hte ts 

Chamai, who was standing beside me with a bandage on 
his forehead, turned his head away in diseust. 

“ Spare your life!” I repeated ; “why, if I did my duty 
I should make your life a sacrifice this very minute tu 


230 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





the souls of the brave heroes who have lost their lives 
through you!’’ And after a pause, I said: “ But, listen to 
me! do what I require, and I will give you more than your 
life; when we are back at Gades, I will give you your 
liberty.” 

“QO, I will do anything ; but swear, swear that you will 
spare my life!” implored the abject wretch, still grovelling 
with his forehead in the dust. 

“Yes, hearken!” I ejaculated. “By Aahtorettel pode. 
of heaven, I swear it!” 

Relieved of his immediate terror, the pusillanimous 
craven started to his feet, and in a tone quite brisk in con- 
trast with his previous whinings began to ask what it was 
that I required him to do. 

“You must first inform us of the strength of Bodmilcar’s 
force.” 

“One hundred and sixty Phoenicians. Six hundred o1 
perhaps seven hundred Iberians.” 

“You must next tell us the place of rendezvous he had 
appointed, in case his attack should fail.” 

Hazael hesitated. Chamai said that if he revealed this, 
he would deserve a score of hangings for his treachery. 
Without noticing the interruption, I said again; 

“You must tell us his place of rendezvous.” 

Again no answer. 

“Except you tell, you shall be hanged this very minute.” 

And to show him that I was in earnest I called for a 
rope. Himilco produced a strong cable-end that he always 
wore round his waist under his kitonet. Hazael quivered 
and turned pale. 

“Stop, stop! don’t hang me! I wé/ tell!” 

“ Out with it, then; quick!” 

“ At the Wolf’s knoll.” 

“So far, so good. But where is that ?” 

“In the wood, two stadia off.” 

“ But which way ?” 

“ Behind us; over there ; there to the right.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 231 





“Well then, come and show us the way.” 

And weary as I was, almost worn out by fatigue, I could 
not resist the desire to go upon the simplest chance o1 
meeting the adversary that I hated so bitterly. I called 
out to my men that I wanted fifty volunteers to go with 
me and hunt out Bodmilcar from his lurking- place. Many 
more than I had calied answered to my appeal, eager to 
offer their services, and I could only request Hannibal to 
select those best fitted for the expedition, and bid the 
others take good care of the women and the,baggage, and 
see that the captives were well secured. 

Aminocles begged for permission to remain behind with his 
little son, and asked that his countryman Demaretes might 
likewise be allowed to stay with his newly-rescued wife ; 
he acknowledged that they were indebted to me for the 
recovery of their dear ones, promised that they would fight 
doubly hard another time, but pleaded that they might be 
excused now. Of course I had no hesitation in yielding 
to his request. 

Before setting out I said, incidentally, that we might 
perchance be fortunate enough to recover the bodies either 
of Hanno or Jonah, or both. Chryseis rose instantly 
to her feet, and, pale with agitation, placed herself at my 
side. To my inquiry whither she was going, she replied in 
a steady voice: 

“To seek the body of my betrothed. If it be the will of 
the gods, f will consign it to a tomb.” 

“Come, then, you shall,” I said, deeply affected by her 
sorrow, her resignation, and her courage ; “and may Ash- 
toreth protect us all!” 

Hannibal gave the order to march. Bichri, ever indefati- 
gable, went to the head of the column, leading Hazael by the 
cord which bound his wrists ; Gisgo, with his hatchet on his 
shoulder, kept close to the eunuch on the other side; and 
Himilco, with his sword drawn, followed on behind. We 
advanced in silence towards the woods, choosing such 
hollows in the ground as the moonlight left in shadow, 


232 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTA:N MAGO. 





and in a short time were within sight of the dark masses 
of foliage that bounded the moonlit plain. Making our 
way as stealthily as we could through the thickets, we came 
to a mound near the edge of the steep that we had scaled 
in the morning. It was an abrupt elevation of the soil, 
and was described-to us by Hazael as being the place 
known as the Wolf’s knoll, and which Bodmilcar had fixed 
as the rally-point of his people. When we halted there 
was not a light to be seen, not a sound to be heard, nothing 
to break the gloom or the stillness of the forest. 

“Before we give the signal for attack,” said Hannibal, 
under his breath, “we ought to know what they are 
doing.” 

“I know my way,” said the eunuch; “let me go and 
look, that I may bring you word.” 

“Thanks,” said Himilco; “you are very good—we will 
not trouble you.”’ 

After this sarcastic rebuff to his very transparent pretext 
for eluding us, Hazael was relapsing into his former silence, 
when Bichri suggested that he should himself take the 
eunuch and go and ascertain the actual position of affairs, 
adding that if he made a movement to escape, he would 
plunge his knife hilt-deep into his body. 

Hannibal gave his consent, and the two disappeared in 
the thicket, Bichri pushing on his prisoner before him, In 
less than half an hour there was a crushing of the brush- 
wood, and they were before us again. 

“What news ?” we asked. 

“The rascal has deceived us,” said Bichri; “we went all 
round the mound, not a man, however, was to be seen.” 

“No, no, no!” sobbed the eunuch; “I have not deceived 
you. I swear I heard Bodmilcar say, ‘Wolf's knoll. Cut 
out my tongue if I lie! I swear it.” 

“Stop your oaths, liar!” I exclaimed impatiently. 
“Lucky for you I pledged you your life; but be on your 
cuard, or, by Ashtoreth, another time 

“It may be,” said Hannibal, “the villains have been 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 233 





lurking about, and, having discovered your approach, have 
decamped. The eunuch may have told the truth. Any- 
how, nothing can be done. I am dead-beat.” 

Himilco and Hamilcar both declared that they, too, 
were quite knocked up, so that I determined to make ou 
way back, and seek the repose of which we were so much 
in need. 


234 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHAPTER XV. 
JUDGE GEBAL DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF. 


ON arriving within a comparatively few paces of our en- 
campment, we were challenged by the sentinels, who were 
keeping a sharp look-out. As soon as we had entered the 
lines, Aminocles came running towards us with excited 
gestures, and, hardly allowing me time to inquire what had 
occurred, told me in broken Phoenician that during our 
absence “the little man” had been and gone, and was now 
in a clump of trees hard by. 

For the moment I was puzzled ; but Bichri, comprehend- 
ing more quickly what the man meant, exclaimed, “ Gebal ! 
Judge Gebal!” and dashing off in the direction indicated, 
began to whistle his accustomed call-note. In a few 
minutes he returned, his countenance beaming with glee. 
The monkey was seated on his shoulder, and greeted us 
with hideous yells and grimaces. Ugly as the creature 
was, I confess I was glad to have it again amongst us; 
nearly every one came to look at it, and although it pulled 
Hannibal’s beard, scratched Himilco’s face, and bit Gisgo’s 
nose, nothing was set down to spitefulness, but all was 
taken in good part, until the beast tried to claw Chamai’s 
hand, upon which Chamai, never very patient either with 
man or brute, struck it a violent blow which sent it howling 
back to Bichri. As it sprang away it dropped something 
that looked like the strap of a sandal. After picking it 
up and examining it by the light of a torch, Chamai 
exclaimed: 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 235 





“By all that’s good, there is something written here! it 
is written in Phoenician.” 

I snatched the strap away from him in my eagerness, 
and discerned in a moment that it was covered with 
characters apparently traced in blood. Without waiting 
to read it all, I cried out: 

“Hanno is alive! old Gebal has brought us the news. 
Hanno has written to us himself.” 

After I had deciphered the writing carefully, I said: 

“ Now, listen, my friends—this is what he says: ‘We are 
prisoners, alive and well: Jonah’s trumpet saved us; 
savages would not give us up to Bodmilcar; their chief 
wanted a Phoenician trumpeter. Another chief wants a 
trumpeter before he will give his daughter in marriage to 
this chief. I am spared as well. We are to be sent off at 
once to the northern chief. Keep up your spirits. We 
will soon escape. Beware of Bodmilcar; he is laying an 
ambush. He means to cut you off from the river. There, 
my men, that’s what he says. We will hope to see him 
yer 

As I ceased to read, Chryseis threw herself into Abigail’s 
arms, and wept for joy ; Gisgo flung his cap into the air; 
Himilco took a liberal draught from his goat-skin; and 
Hannibal manifested his emotion by sneezing seven times 
in succession. As for Bichri, he took the monkey in his 
arms, and fairly hugged it, a piece of attention which 
Gebal acknowledged by plucking out a handful of his 
hair, 

“O, Gebal, shame upon you! would you be pulling out 
my hair when you know how much I love you? Brave old 
Gebal! I was only congratulating you on distinguishing 
yourself so well.” 

The others were all equally anxious to pet the creature, 
and gave it quantities of almonds and raisins, which it took 
without leaving its perch upon Bichri’s shoulder. 

“Come, come! Ie sard, “no! tine for® this: trifling: 
Our watcr is gone ; we must get to the river; we must be 


236 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





beforehand with Bodmilcar. But there is one piece of 
business that we must settle first. Bring Hazael here.” 

The eunuch was brought before me, and addressing him 
very sternly, I said: 

“Hazael, you have heard this letter. It proves you a 
liar and a traitor. Your villainy has cost us much trouble ; 
there is no reprieve this time; you must be sent forthwith 
to another tribunal. Menath, Hokk, and Rhadamath must 
be your judzes. You must die.” 





Flinging himself prostrate at my feet, the abject wretch 
broke out into the most piteous supplications ; he implored 
for mercy, but I was inexorable. Two sailors raised him 
to his feet, and Himilco having made a running noose in 
his rope, slipped it round the Syrian’s neck. 

“Choose your own tree, my good man,” said Himilco ; 
“for my part I should recommend a sturdy holm.” 

Hazael made no reply, but struggled so violently that he 
had to be dragged forcibly along. 

“Don’t be a fool!” cried Gisgo. ‘“ What objection can 
you have to be hanged ? it will save your shoe-leather.” 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 237 





“Now then,” said Himilco, as soon as they had placed 
the eunuch under the tree, “haul away, tackle him up to 
the standing-rigging; there! his navigation has come 
to an end!” 

And almost as he spoke, Hazael was dangling in the 
moonlight. 

“One traitor gone to his last account,” I said. 

“ And the other, I hope, soon to follow,” Hannibal replied. 

Brief and scanty was our rest that night; and when in 
the morning the sun rose in a cloudless sky, so unrefreshed 
were we after our fighting and toiling, that it was with the 
utmost difficulty that we could drag ourselves across the 
hot and dusty plain. My own throat was parched, and my 
stomach cramped with those terrible sensations known only 
‘too well by those who have suffered the tortures of exces- 
sive thirst. Himilco had drained his last drop of wine, and 
went feebly along through lack of stimulant ; Hannibal 
removed his helmet, and carried it slung from his girdle ; 
and all were too worn and weary to utter a syllable as we 
marched. Bichri was the only one of us who exhibited no 
symptom of fatigue, his wiry frame being capable of un- 
limited endurance. 

About the middle of the afternoon a light mist, indicat- 
ing the course of the river, revived our flagging energies by 
making us aware that fresh water was not far off. I took 
Bichri and a number of men carrying gourds and geat-skins, 
and hurried on to obtain, without loss of time, some drink 
for my thirsty host; but when I had got within half a 
stadium of the river-bank I was seized with suck violent 
pain and nausea that I could hardly stand. TI persevered. 
however, till we were hardly more than twenty paces from 
the water’s edge, when suddenly there was a rustling in the 
bushes, and a score or more of lances came whizzing about 
us, and we were startled by the shrill war-cry of the 
Iberians. Surprised, but not intimidated by the attack, we 
kept steadily on our way, and were close upon the river- 
bank, when some thirty or forty savages emerged from the 


238 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





rushes and confronted us with their lances, whilst as many 
again, with hideous yells, ran to assail the flank of our main 
body. Hannibal and Chamai soon dispersed their adver- 
saries, but I with my party in advance did not fare so 
well, for notwithstanding that Bichri struck down more 
than one of the foremost of the barbarians, they succeeded 
in entirely surrounding us. One of the sailors had his arm 
pierced by a javelin Bichri had a cut in the calf of his 
leg,and my own movements were completely paralysed by a 
lance having got tightly fixed in myshield and shoulder-belt. 
I confess I thought it was all up with us, but at the critical 
moment the well-known sound of the Phcenician trumpet 
broke upon us, followed by the animating cry, “Courage, 
courage, we are here!” and a change passed upon the scene. 
Like a flock of startled birds the savages were off in scared 
retreat ; an advancing troop, doubtless Bodmilcar’s own, 
wheeled rapidly about and took to flight ; they had descried 
Hasdrubal who, from the river-bank, was bringing up a 
company to our rescue. Never did a friend receive a 
warmer welcome. To my inquiry how it was that he had 
arrived so opportunely, he told me he had been watching 
the enemy’s movements all the morning ; they had been too 
engrossed with their own schemes to observe him, but he 
was so convinced they were designing mischief that he 
lowered the mast of the Cadzros and brought her up to 
the side-arm of the river, whence he had led his men 
forward just in time to render us good service. 

Thus happily relieved from the threatened peril, our force 
hastened onwards to slake their thirst, and I think it was 
for the first time in my life that I saw Himilco gulp down 
(and that with evident satisfaction) a draught of pure water. 
Another hour and we were descending the Beetis, and 
joyously recounting our adventures. 

That night, which was spent on board the Caézros, was a 
right of well-earned rest. Next morning we started carly 
for the spot where the Dagon and the Asktoreth had been 
moored, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 239 





I gave my sailors five shekels apiece, and a triple ration 
of wine, and conscious that they had been overworked, I 
granted them twenty-four hours’ release from labour before 
finally recommencing our voyage. They spent their holi- 
day according to their own taste ; they drank, they shouted, 
they sang, they danced, and occasionally they diversified 
their amusement by a little fighting ; yet, notwithstanding 
the obstreperousness of their proceedings, when evening 
came they calmed down quietly enough to their ordinary 
discipline. 

The next day found us once more on the open sca, 
and for myself I felt an indescribable satisfaction in again 
looking upon its green and restless face, and in hearing 
its waves plash against the sides of my ship. 

In two days we had reached Gades, and I settled all the 
business I had to transact with Ziba. ; 

And now the time had come for me to announce to my 
officers and crew a purpose that I had long been con- 
templating. Accordingly I invited them all to an enter- 
tainment in a tent at some public gardens beyond the 
town, and when the repast was over I rose and told them 
why I had gathered them together. 

“My friends,” I began, “our mission is accomplished. 
King David's demands are met ; King Hiram’s orders are 
fulfilled. King David’s subjects are at liberty to return to 
Palestine, and I have brought them here to bid them all 
farewell.” 

Chamai started to his feet impatiently, and looking at me 
with a kcen and earnest scrutiny, asked what I meant. 

“What I mean,” I continued, “is soon told. I propose 
to put all my silver on board the Dagon, and to place her 
under the command of Hasdrubal. In the Dagon you, too, 
can return. Hasdrubal shall have orders to land you and 
Abigail and Ifannibal, and whocver else may choose te 
accompany you, at Joppa.” 

Upon hearing this, Hannibal, in a voice agitated with 
emotion, callcd out: 


240 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“And you? What about yourself? And are not 
Himilco, Hamilcar, and Gisgo to go back with us ?” 

“Not one of them,” I answered; “we have other work 
to do.” 

A blank silence fell upon them all. Hannibal gazed at 
me in bewilderment, big tears gathering in his eyes ; 
Chamai broke his reverie by bringing his fist down so 
violently upon a chair that it broke under the blow; and 
after a space, Bichri began softly to whistle one of the 





melodies of his tribe, his usual way of trying to ex- 
hibit a contemptuous indifference. 

Chamai was the first to speak. 

“By our holy God! captain, I could never have believed 
you capable of this,” he blurted out. 

“Yes, indeed, by all that’s holy !” said Hannibal, finding 
his voice, “what have we done that merits treatment of 
this kind?” 

“Tam doing you no wrong,” I answered ; “friends we 
have been hitherto ; friends let us part. You can surely 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 241 





ask no more than that I should remit you to your homes tc 
pass the rest of your lives in ease and affluence.” 

“But why not return yourself ?” they asked. 

“T have invited you here, to tell you why. It is the 
resolve of myself and of the Sidonians that are with me 
to make a voyage of discovery. I have set my heart on 
finding out what lands there are, whether they be isles 
or continents, lying to the north. I am determined, if I 
can, to settle whether it be possible, by sailing round 
Tarshish to the west, to reach the Celtic shores. These 
are the problems that I seek to solve.” 

“And do you think,” said Chamai, “that we shall be 
content to enjoy our repose while you are braving all 
the perils of the unknown sea? No, no; not quite so un- 
grateful as that!” 

“Desert our colours in the middle of the fight? nay, 
that will never do,” cried Hannibal: “return home, who 
will ; my post is with you, captain.” 

Ch: mai echoed his words, and Abigail averred her inten- 
tion of not being parted from her lover. 

I was quite overcome by the attachment of my people, 
and grasped them all in turns by the hand. 

“The gods reward your courage and fidelity,” I 
exclaimed. “But surely some of you will wish to return ? 
Aminocles, what say you? do you not want to take your 
son back to his home? And you, Chryseis, you will 
hardly think of facing the perils of the untried sea ?” 

Aminocles replied that he could not desire his son to 
have a better home than the society of warriors offered ; and 
Chryseis avowed that she was bound to me by a perpetual 
debt of gratitude: I had liberated her from slavery, and it 
might be, if she continued with me still, that her missing 
lover would be restored to her. 

Turning to Bichri, who was still whistling some national 
air in a lackadaisical manner, I said to him : 

“As yet, young man, we have not heard your decision, 
Have you nothing to say ?” 

R 


242 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





“Not much,” he answered; “I planted a patch of 
Ziba’s land with a lot of vine-slips. I think I shall go 
north with you, and look in here at Tarshish on my way 
back, just to see how my plantation prospers.” 

“Well done, Bichri!” cried Himilco; “you have set a 
young vineyard going, have you? You will have a long 
generation of tipplers never ceasing to bless the day you 
came to Gades. May the gods smile on you and your 
vines |” 

Bichri did not vouchsafe Himilco any answer, but went 
on, as though talking to himself: 

“With old Gebal, and little Dionysos, I think I can be 
happy enough. I shall miss poor Jonah, though.” 

I had thus learnt to my great surprise that there was 
not one of my companions who was disposed to leave me. 
I took measures, therefore, for consigning the charge of my 
cargo, including the silver, to a Sidonian captain who was 
about returning home, and then, without loss of time, laid 
in an ample store of provisions for my voyage over the 
untraversed waters of the West. 

On the morning of my departure I went to take my 
leave of the naval suffect and of Ziba. As I passed along 
the quay by the entrance of the harbour, I found a great 
concourse of people gathered together for the purpose of 
witnessing the erection of two great pillars, one of which 
bore a figure of the sun, and the other a statue of our god 
Melkarth. I was naturally curious to ascertain the meaning 
of the columns, and was informed that they indicated the 
limits of the habitable world, and that beyond them there 
was nothing but ocean. But the response of the oracle was 
still echoing in my memory: the world for me had wider 
bounds, I smiled, and went my way with a hopeful heart 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 243 





CHAPTER XVI. 


PERILS OF THE OCEAN, 


For a whole week I followed the coast steadily to the 
north, and having rounded a lofty promontory, bore 
towards the east. In all my previous navigation I had 
never experienced such difficult sailing, nor seen waves 
more angry than those which dashed against the cliffs 
that formed the shore. One headland there was which 
took us little short of four days to double, and it was not 
until we had been battling for more than a fortnight with 
continual tempest that we found ourselves in calmer waters 
and off a flat coast, of which, after the mountains had come 
to their limit, the direction was again northwards, We 
were all greatly fatigued. 

Before we had proceeded much further we came to a 
river with a mouth so wide that at first I imagined it to be 
a gulf; the shores on either hand were wooded and un- 
dulating, and the general aspect of the country was so 
inviting that I determined to lay to, and had no difficulty 
in finding excellent anchorage about half-way up the 
estuary. 

“By all that’s good!” exclaimed Gisgo, “I recognise 
those cabins. That’s a Celtic village ;” and he pointed to 
a cluster of huts, with conical roofs made of thatched reeds, 
and without more ado made four rowers pull him ashore in 
a boat to pay a visit to his former acquaintances. 

He was not mistaken. In half an hour our vessels were 
surrounded by the ill-made coracles of the inquisitive Celts 


244 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





some of whom were so eager to scrutinise us that they 
swam out all the way from the shore; and our decks were 
soon invaded by numbers of them, who, with loud laughter 
and much gesticulating, began talking all at once in a 
language which was anything but euphonious. They ap- 
peared perfectly friendly, and were far less barbarous in 
their manners than the people of Tarshish. They were 
dressed in very short tunics, made of coarse material 
woven by themselves, and their legs were covered with 
trousers that came to the ankles; their faces were round, 
and generally bore a good-humoured expression; their 
eyes were bright, and for the most part blue; their hair 
light brown, and occasionally quite flaxen. Some of them 
had bronze weapons and jewellery, which had found their 
way from Phcenicia along the Rhone by means of the 
Salians; the majority of them, however, still retained 
their wooden, stone, or bone implements, many of which 
were very well made. 

The Celts, as I learnt on visiting one of their villages 
ouilt upon piles in the water, are very expert fishermen. 
I bought some gold dust of them in exchange for some of 
my goods, which they seemed glad to obtain. They all 
agreed in affirming that they had come from the north- 
east, and had been established for nearly a century in 
their present localities, whence they had driven out some 
people resembling the Iberians and Ligurians; and they 
said that in the regions behind them there were some 
other tribes of Celts, whom they called Gauls and Cymri. 

After leaving their “ mas,” as they termed their village, 
I returned to the ships, and we resumed our northward 
course. Eight days’ moderate sailing brought us into a 
labyrinth of rocky shoals and islands. On the mainland 
we found some more Celts, who told us that the name of 
the country was Ar-Mor, that is to say, “the land of the 
sea;” and relying on their statement that north of their 
own country there was a large island both rich and fertile 
I resolved to prosecute my voyage in that direction, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 245 





Two days later we were overtaken by a tremendous 
tempest, and the sea being at the same time overhung by 
a dense fog, which my people called “the lungs of the 
ocean,” we were tossed about by the foaming waves, and 
seemed for several succeeding days to be wandering in the 
gloomy realms of the dead. By the evening of the fifth 
day we had lost all reckoning of our position, and were 
drifting helplessly at the mercy of the wind and waves. 
Towards midnight, overcome with fatigue, I was dozing at 
the foot of the mast, when I was aroused by Himilco’s 
stentorian shout, “ Breakers ahead!” 

In an instant I was upon my feet, and at the helmsman’s 
side. 

“ Backwater !” I shouted, “and signal the other ships.” 

All hastened to light the torches and lamps; but it 
was too late—a long cry of distress made us aware that 
the Dagon had already stranded,.and as I tacked about to 
effect a retreat, I witnessed the heart-breaking spectacle 
of the Cadiros completely heeled over, and lying in the 
very midst of the breakers. 

‘The Ashtoreth, although she was hitherto uninjured, was 
environed by reefs which were level with the surface of the 
water. The current was so strong that all my efforts to 
get back to the channel by which we had entered were 
unavailing, and after an hour’s struggle I still found mysclf 
near enough to hear the surf curling over the peaks of the 
rocks. For nearly the twentieth time I gave the order to 
tack, when a sudden and ominous crash revealed the 
appalling fact that we had struck the shoal, and were 
aground ; and all through that pitch-black night we had 
to endure the torture of believing that all our vessels were 
irretrievably lost. 

The wind dropped with the first streak of dawn, and 
beyond the breakers I could distinguish that the sea was 
calm, and that we were not much more than half a stadium 
from the shore. Shipwrecked though we might be, our 
lives were spared, and our situation was not altogether so 


246 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





desperate as we had imagined. The Cadiros was safe, in 
spite of her disaster, and had been hauled up on shore; 
but the Dagon, it was only too evident, was in a very 
critical position. I ordered all my men to abandon the 
ships and make for land. Some of them hung back, un- 
willing to leave me; Chamai being so reluctant to go that 
he had to be sent ashore by main force, and Hamilcar 
Hasdrubal, Gisgo, and Himilco all pleading so earnestly 
to remain with me that I was forced to consent. My own 
resolution, of course, was to abide, while the planks held 
together, with the ship that had carried us so far in safety. 

As the day advanced the swell gradually abated, and the 
pale-blue sky was broken by fleecy clouds; not far away 
we could see the green shore, where our people were 
standing on the water’s edge waving signs of encourage- 
ment, and very soon Bichri and Dionysos managed to 
clamber over the rocks and to come aboard our vessel. 

At low tide I made a careful examination of the keels, 
and found that not only was the keel of the Ashtoreth 
very little injured, but that her stern was wedged so tightly 
between the two rocks that her position was secure; at the 
same time she had not been jammed in so violently but 
that I hoped a high tide might float her again. With the 
Dagon, however, the case was unfortunately very different ; 
she had been dashed so hopelessly against the jutting crags 
that she must inevitably go to pieces, and I lost no time in 
beginning to unload her. 

Our people had discovered a stream of fresh water, and a 
neighbouring wood afforded fuel, so that the spot was very 
favourable for acamp, the whole arrangement of which I 
deputed to Hannibal, who immediately enclosed the site 
with an intrenchment. Having completed the task of un- 
loading both ships, we took down the mast of the A sh/oreth, 
and rescued from the Dagon as much planking and as many 
fittings as we could, as well as the best part of her copper 
sheathing. Lightened by the removal of her cargo and 
rigging, the A sh/oreth, under the influence of a stiffish breeze, 


pe 


eae 
oe 


nie 
eel 
oa a ie 








HASDRUBAL, 


TO CONSOLE 


COULD 


I 


DID WHAT 


I 





To face page 247+ 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 247 





was set afloat on the third day amidst general acclamation. 
and so admirably was she managed by Himilco, that she 
was soon brought to land, and laid high and dry upor 
the shore. 

I did what I could to console Hasdrubal for the loss of 
his ship, but he wept tears of bitter sorrow as he saw his 
ill-fated Dagon break up before his eyes. 

For some days we had seen no trace of any natives, and 
were in want of provisions. I was preparing to send out 
two boats on a fishing excursion, when we caught sight of a 
long coracle rounding the point that sheltered our position. 
It was made of hides stretched out upon a wooden frame, 
and was paddled by four men, half-naked. On nearing us 
they hesitated, but we made signs to them of our friendly 
intentions, and theycame on and landed. Gisgo, recognising 
them as Celts, both by their physiognomy and general 
aspect, began to address them in their own language, and 
they answered him very volubly, making many gesticulations 
all the time they were speaking. So delighted did they 
profess themselves at meeting with people who understood 
their tongue, that they insisted on kissing us; and not- 
withstanding the smell of their long hair, which was reeking 
with rancid grease, we were obliged to submit to their 
embraces. 

Gisgo told us that although they spoke a language similat 
to that of the southern and central Celts, they were really 
the Cymri, a kindred tribe from the north, where they 
inhabited an island which they called Prydhayn; they 
seemed restless and inquisitive, overwhelming us with all 
manner of questions; they were tall and handsome, and 
had pink and white complexions, eyes of azure blue, 
and hair of the colour of ripe corn. 

“Fine soldiers these fellows would make,” said Hannibal: 
“T should like to have a thousand of them to drill ; I would 
soon be more than a match for Bodmilcar.” 

To Bichri’s remark that they seemed to have no bows, 
Gisgo replied that he had seen them with bows occasionally, 


248 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





but that their ordinary weapons were lances and hatchets, 
of which the stone tips and blades were always sharp and 
often beautifully made. 

I had the men questioned as to whether they had any 
previous knowledge of the Phceenicians. They said that 
their kinsmen, the Cymri of the north, had often spoken of 
strangers with dark skins and black hair, who came in large 
ships and brought beautiful merchandise, but that they 
themselves had never been thrown into contact with them. 

I made them a number of presents, and much to Himilco’s 
annoyance (for he knew our supply was rapidly diminishing), 
I gave them some wine. This exhilarated them very much 
for a time, although their shouting and screaming ended in 
some bickerings amongst themselves ; to us, however, they 
were civil, and in spite of a little roughness, we found their 
manners so kind, that it was impossible to be in any way 
alarmed at them. When they went away they promised to 
return in the evening, and bring their whole population and 
some goods in return for our presents, but we saw nothing 
more of them until the next morning, when they came 
followed by a whole retinue of men, women, and children, 
but all of them quite empty-handed. Rushing into the 
camp with great excitement, they overwhelmed us with 
their embraces, and asked such countless questions that I 
was quite bewildered; they insisted upon helping us to 
arrange our camp, but introduced disorder wherever they 
went: loud in their praises of what they saw, they were 
scrupulously honest, and did not attempt to purloin the 
smallest article, but their inquisitiveness and their meddling 
rendered them a perpetual nuisance. They tried Hannibal's 
temper sorely, by handling his cuirass and helmet; the 
more he pushed them off the more they laughed and enjoyed 
his annoyance. Chryseis and Abigail had a hard matter to 
keep them from stripping them, in their curiosity to examine 
their clothes. Judge Gebal did not fail to provide them 
boundless amusement, and they roared with laughter as 
Bichriand Dionysos made their mischievous little quadrupied 








\\ es 2 
NY Laat 5 
MS Se 














JUDGE GEBAL. 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 245 





show off his antics. Some of my people regretted that 
we had lost the attraction of Jonah’s trumpet, but there 
was a sufficient variety of objects without that to give them 
abundance of diversion. 

Amidst all this, however, I did not suffer myself to 
forget either of the two grand objects of my voyage, the 
discovery of new lands and the acquisition of rare commo- 
dities ; and accordingly I took much pains to examine the 
people about the situation and configuration, both of their 
own islands and of the land we had just left. They seemed 
a very intelligent race, and I found that they were adven- 
turous, frequently accomplishing long distances in their 
canoes of hide. According to their information we were 
now on the largest and most important of a group of twelve 
small islands,’ but that the great island Prydhayn was so 
large that it took them no less than two months to circum- 
navigate it in their canoes, from which I drew the inference 
that it must be as large as Tarshish. I requested the men 
to bring me whatever food they had for sale, and they never 
failed subsequently in keeping me well supplied with fish 
and venison. Seeing at once that they were not an agricul- 
tural people, I made no demands for corn and vegetables ; 
but as some time afterwards a small quantity of barley and 
some other edible grain arrived from Prydhayn, I conjec- 
tured that some of the natives are beginning to have some 
notion of husbandry. 

I was much struck by the number of trinkets that the 
Cymri wore about their persons; and observing that the 
metal of which many of them were made was singularly 
white, I was curious to know what it was and where it 
could be procured. To my surprise, and I may add to my 
delight, I was informed that the island on which we were 
encamped yielded it in great abundance, and I lost no time 
in investigating the veins of ore. Accompanied by a few 
men, I set out upon a search which was rewarded by the 
discovery that the entire island was one vast mine of tin. 


' The Scilly Islands, the Cassiterides, or Tin islands of the ancicuts. 


250 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





A scheme suggested itself to my mind which I resolved 
to carry out. With the wood obtained either here or from 
the neighbouring large island, I determined to build a new 
ship to replace the shattered Dagon; and during the time 
that it was being constructed I purposed gathering such a 
store of metal as would form a cargo far surpassing any- 
thing of the kind which Phoenicia had witnessed before. 
Every one around me most heartily approved of my 
project. 

In return for a few trifling knick-knacks, and for some 
fragments of the old copper sheathing of the Dagon, 
the natives willingly acquiesced in our working their mines, 
and in letting us portions of their territory for as long 
as we pleased to retain it; in fact, they seemed to wish 
that we would settle permanently amongst them; they 
volunteered their assistance in every way, and our camp 
was quite over-stocked with the produce of their hunting 
and fishing, whilst for the presents we made them they 
were profuse in their expressions of pleasure and gra- 
titude. In spite of their restlessness, inquisitiveness, and 
love of talking, I have no hesitation in pronouncing them 
the most favourable specimens of savages we had hitherto 
seen. 

Our arrangements were soon made. MHamilcar, with 
Bichri and twenty archers, started on board the Cadiros 
to explore the islands and the coast of Prydhayn; Has- 
drubal and Gisgo undertook the supervision of the working 
of the mines; I remained with Himilco in the camp to 
devote myself to the construction of our new ship; and, 
first of all, in order to protect our men against the rainy 
and rigorous climate, I had some substantial huts erected, 
as being more suitable than the tents. For Hannibal and 
Chamai there was no definite employment, and they spent 
most of their time in hunting and fishing, and in joining 
in the sports of the islanders, whom they began to in- 
struct in military drill; and never had they found more 
apt or devoted learners. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 251 


One day Hannibal and Chamai made their appearance 
among us with their chins closcly shorn, and no hair left 
on the face except a moustache on the upper lip; they had 
fraternised so far with the savages as to conform to their 
fashion, 

“You cut fine figures,” I said, laughing ; “go and paint 





) 
your faces, and you will make capital Cymri.” 

Hannibal tricd by very elaborate reasoning to justify 
his proceeding, alleging that one ought to conform to 
national customs, and that as the warriors here had their 
faces shorn, it was right that he as a warrior amongst war- 
riors should do the same. 

“And Abigail,” said Chamai, “thinks the change is very 
becoming to me.” 





This argument being unanswerable, I had not anothe: 
word to say. 

Days, weeks and months glided on whilst we continued 
our active though somewhat monotonous labours. 

When Hamilcar returned from his cruise, he informed us 
that he had not only made his way along the west coast of 
the great island, but that, still farther to the west, he had 
discovered a somewhat smaller island which he had com- 
pletely circumnavigated ; the natives, he said, called it 
Erin, or “the green isle,” from its remarkable verdnre, and 
I retained the name. 

‘The winter came on, cold and drear. I have no power 
to describe the consternation of those of our party Who had 
never before seen frost or snow: nothing but the sternest 


252 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





necessity could induce them ever to leave their huts. The 
poor monkey suffered excessively. Bichri and Dionysos 
alone seemed unaffected by the fall of temperature ; they 
were always ready to join the young Cymri in games of 
snowballing, and would glide along the frozen surface of 
the water until their faces glowed again with the exertion. 

Under Bichri’s tuition the little Phocian boy was be. 
coming an adept in the use both of the sling and of the 
bow ; he seemed always delighted to be bringing back from 
his hunting excursions fresh trophies of his skill. 





The most hipped of all the party was Himilco; not that 
the sturdy pilot had more dread than the rest of mists and 
frosts, but because he was much disconcerted at the rapid 
diminution in our stock of wine. 

“ Ah me!” he would sigh, as each goat-skin was drained ; 
“another gone! we shall have nothing but water with 
which to greet the advent of spring. Ah, yes! it is time 
we were back again in Pheenicia ; it would do one good to 
see the vines on the hill-side of Berytos.” 

In his forebodings Himilco found a genuine sympathiser 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 253 





in Hannibal, who (although I should not like to say that 
there was one amongst us who would not be sorry for all 
our wine to be exhausted) was the only one who openly 
shared the regret of our thirsty pilot. 

At length the days grew longer and brighter, and the 
sea, which had been almost always angry and restless, 
settled down into something of a calm. Our new ship was 
finished. We launched it on our feast of navigation, and 
not only did the Cymri come to assist, but in honour of 
the occasion their priests and priestesses stripped them- 
selves of their clothes, and stained their bodies with blue 
and black paint. In the evening we had a banquet of fish, 
venison, barley, and some of the esculents of the country. 
We also finished the last drop of cur wine. 

“Let us drink to our prosperous return,” said Himilco, 

“Tt is much too soon to speak about that,” I rejoined ; 
“our voyage as yet is far from its end.” 

Every one looked at me in bewilderment ; it had never 
occurred to them that we could be bound elsewhere than 
for Sidon. Chamai asked whether we were going to have 
a little further benefit of “the lungs of the sea.” 

“You are perfectly at liberty to go home,” I answered 
him. “This new ship has been built, and I am quite 
prepared to let her return with her cargo and as many of 
you as are no longer disposed to encounter the cold and 
mists.” 

Chamai started to his feet, and said impulsively : 

“Surely, captain, you did not suppose I was in earnest ; 
you cannot believe I was thinking of leaving you. I 
profess I do not like this chill and dreary climate ; but you 
may rely on this, wherever you go, I shall go also.” 

I gave him my hand, assuring him that I had every 
confidence in his fidelity, and then proceeded to explain 
the motive that induced ‘me to extend my voyage, J 
showed them a fragment of a transparent yellow substance, 
which appeared to be comparable to some of the jewels of 
ou own, land,» .Lhe: ‘Celt. avho. had‘cive it me” calledsit 


254 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





amber, and told me that thirty days’ sailing to the east 
would bring me to the shore of a large continent where it 
was washed up in great abundance. Here truly was a gift 
from Ashtoreth ! 

“And who knows,” I continued, “whether the vast 
ocean which is united to the Great Sea at the Straits of 
Gades may not again be united to it in the east? Hitherto 
we have learnt nothing about the horthern shores of the 
Black Sea, and who can tell whether we shall not be able 
to return to Sidon by way of Caria and Chittim ?” 

The familiar sound of these names rekindled the courage 
of my people, who one and all avowed their intention of 
accompanying me eastwards to the amber-coast. 

“Yes,” said Himilco, “although the wine is all gone.” 

Our new vessel (which was called the Adonzbal, after the 
naval suffect at Utica) was well freighted with our cargo 
of tin; like the other ships, she took in a good supply of 
water and a quantity of dry salted meat, as well as some 
grain and some of the sour native fruits. 

After bidding farewell to the kindly-disposed Cymri, 
who had contributed so much to our comfort during our 
long sojourn among them, we put out to sea. The 
islanders accompanied us for some distance in their canoes, 
but we soon outstripped them and left them out of sight as 
we doubled the western extremity of Prydhayn. 

Six days’ rough sailing brought us to the eastern 
extremity of the island; thence steering due east I came 
to a low flat coast, along which I continued to advance very 
cautiously. This took us a week, at the end of which we 
found ourselves in a wide estuary, on the far side of which 
the coast resumed its northerly direction. In spite of the 
violent wind and angry sea I persisted in following the coast 
for yet five days more, seeking a passage towards the east, 
holding no communication with the natives, although the 
glow of the fires inland demonstrated that the country 
was inhabited. But at last the state of our provisions and 
the continuance of rough weather compelled us to abandon 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 255 





all hope of discovering a passage, even if one existed, 
which probably after all was not the case, and we turned 
back, meeting on our way four large Cymrian canoes 
coming back from the continent, where their crews had 
been collecting amber. They assured us we should find 
unlimited quantities on the eastern shore, and I was 
preparing to proceed thitherwards when we were enveloped 
in a fog so dense, that we were forced to lay to. We sent 
some boats out to reconnoitre ; these had some difficulty 
in getting to the shore, but considerably more in getting 
back again to the ships, although I had lighted a number 
of torches and lamps as beacons. 

When the fog lifted a little we made our way very 
gradually until we came to what looked like land. This 
was the amber country. 

“Since there is nothing to be found at sea,” I said, “let 
us disembark.” 

But disembarkment was no easy matter. We had entered, 
without knowing it, into what seemed to be the estuary of a 
river; but we were literally imbedded in mire, and it was 
next to impossible to define the boundary between the 
muddy water and the slimy shore; in the gloomy at- 
mosphere, earth, air, sky, seemed all to be blended into one. 
After four or five hours’ toil the As/¢oreth was moored ina 
small creek, and the other vessels were drawn up on what 
was the nearest approach to dry land that the sodden sands 
afforded. It took the rest of the day to dig a trench rounu 
the ships, and to make a kind of encampment for ourselves ; 
the fog again became extremely dense, and the gloomy day 
yielded only to a gloomier night. 

Bichri, who with twenty men had started on a foraging 
expedition, returned shivering with cold; he brought some 
good faggots, which, though they were damp, were very 
resinous, and burnt well. We lighted as many fires as we 
could, and heedless of the volumes of smoke which they 
emitted, we crouched closely around them as we cooked 
Our supper. 


256 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Chamai, who had wrapped himself tightly in his mantle 
was the first to break the depressing silence. 

“Frightful, odious country!” he exclaimed , “can human 
creatures exist in such a desolation as this? It is a place 
for monsters, not for men!” 

“Tt would just suit old Jonah, then,” said Hannibal, with 
a sigh ; “it would cheer us up, too, if Hanno were here to 
entertain us with a sprinkling of his wit.” 

“T do not think we neéd have much fear on ‘their account,” 

] said ; “by this time, I should hope, they are pacing the 
sunny streets of Sidon, or enjoying the fragrant heights of 
Libanus.” 

“Yes; I daresay,” Himilco assented ; “and no doubt 
they have plenty of good wine to drink; wine, rich as 
nectar, from Helbon, Byblos, and Sarepta!” 

“There now, enough of that,” cried Hannibal; “cease 
your talking, or you will be making me as much a wine- 
bibber as yourself.” 

“Call me a wine-bibber ?” groaned Hannibal, holding up 
a goblet of turbid water; “do you think this is the kind of 
stuff to get tipsy on?” 

The dull mist grew more and more chilling, and every 
one appeared quite benumbed. Gebal was wrapped up in 
folds of woollen cloth, which Bichri had provided for him, 
but was almost too paralysed to make a grimace. We 
crouched down still closer to our fires, and obtained what 
unrefreshing sleep we could. 

The morning dawned, grey, and almost as gloomy as ever, 
without one streak of sunlight. Red with anger was Chamai 
as he exclaimed impatiently : 

“T suppose the sun does not shine in these cursed 
regions !” 

“Oh yes!” replied Gisgo, “he does come now and then, 
but he finds everything so confoundedly ugly, that he is 
glad to get back again to the Great Sea, and to his own 
dear Pheenicia.” 

Aminocles once again became subject to his nervoug 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 257 





fancies ; he was sure that we must have entered Hades, 
and implored us to lose no time in offering a sacrifice to 
propitiate the gods of the lower world. Naturally enough 
we ridiculed his fears, but it cannot be denied that the 
influence of the climate is most depressing, and conducing 
to hypochondria. 

I urged upon my companions the importance of our 
seeking communication if possible with the natives, and as 
soon as we had taken our morning meal we arranged to set 
out and explore the river. Bichri and twenty men went 
forward as an advanced guard; I followed with Hannibal 
and the main body of the fighting force ; Hamilcar, with 
about thirty more, brought up the rear. Hasdrubal and 
fifty men were told off to keep guard over the ships and 
encampment during our absence. Just as he was setting 
out Bichri remarked that he wished he had Jonah with his 
trumpet to attract the attention of the inhabitants, but I 
bade him not to indulge just then in unavailing regrets. 

After wading through such desperate quagmires that we 
could hardly determine whether we were going by land or 
by water, we arrived at some forests consisting of black firs, 
and some other trees that were remarkable for their slim- 
ness and scanty grey foliage. The soil everywhere was 
marshy, and often broken by large pools. Although we did 
not come across a human being, we observed many vestiges 
which showed that the place was by no means untrodden 
by the foot of man. In four places we passed some ruined 
recd-huts, surrounded by piles of ashes, numbers of shells, 
and some gnawed bones that bore the marks of fire. But 
if men were wanting, animals abounded. At every turn we 
noticed prints, large and small, of cloven hoofs, betokening 
that we were traversing the haunt both of bullocks and 
deer, some of the impressions being obviously those of very 
enormous creatures. Bichri, who followed one of the tracks 
for some distance into the wood, remarked that branches 
had been broken off the trees by the animals’ horns at so 
great a height from the ground, that he was convinced it 

5 


258 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 





had been done by a beast several hands taller than the 
largest horse. On our way back to the camp we saw two 
deer of a smaller species; Gisgo recognised them as the 
same he had seen in the country of the Celts, who call 
them renns or reindeer; they took to flight immediately 
they caught sight of us, a circumstance that convinced me 
that the inhabitants were accustomed to hunt them ; Bichri 
and Dionysos, however, not only contrived to get within 
bowshot of them, but brought them both down, a great 
boon to us all, as we were in much need of fresh meat. 
The renns were about the size of a donkey; they had very 
slender legs, large hoofs, thick grey hair, a white spot 
upon their breasts, and large branching horns. 

Next day I sent Hamilcar with two boats to cruise along 
the coast, and taking nearly all the rest of my people and 
thirty archers with me, went myself to make a more 
thorough exploration of the country. We were met by 
a herd of wild bulls. We attacked them as vigorously as 
we could, but at the first touch of our arrows the brutes 
charged down upon us so furiously that we were obliged 
to take refuge behind the trees. One poor soldier who 
could not succeed in getting out of the way was trampled 
under the animals’ feet, and another was tossed into the 
air so violently that his back was broken by the fall. Three 
of the bullocks were killed, and after being cut in pieces, 
their flesh was conveyed to the camp. 

On our way back Bichri wounded a gigantic stag, which 
Chamai succeeded in killing by stabbing it just below the 
shoulder-blade. It was of a kind which Gisgo said was not 
often seen by the Celts, and he called it an elenn or eland. 
Elenns are considerably larger than horses, and as a general 
rule feed upon the lower branches of trees, their necks 
being so short and rigid that unless they can graze upon 
soft soil into which they can sink nearly to their knees, 
they cannot get their heads down sufficiently low to reach 
the grass; they have very formidable antlers, which do 
not stand high, but branch out very wide on both sides; 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 255 





their strength is enormous, and, unlike the rest of the deer 
tribe, they do not exhibit terror when attacked, but boldly 
front the hunter. They are consequently animals which it 
is by no means prudent to assail in close quarters, as we 
subsequently learnt by our own experience. 

Hamilcar returned, bringing a fair supply of amber that 
he had collected along the coast. 

We remained in our quarters here for more than a 
fortnight, spending our time in gathering amber, and 
subsisting upon whatever renns, elenns, or wild bulls we 
were able to kill. 

The poor fellow who had been killed was buried where 
he had fallen. Over his grave was placed a stone engraved 
with his name and an invocation to the gods. 


260 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





CHAPTER XVII. 
JONO, THE GOD OF THE SUOMI. 


AFTER sixteen days’ sojourn, finding the amber beginning 
to run short, and the game getting very wild, I resolved to 
proceed, and sailed eastwards for five days, until the lack 
of provisions, no less than the desire of exploring, induced 
me to enter the mouth of the great river we had pre- 
viously seen. The aspect of the place was scarcely more 
inviting than where we had landed before, but we hauled 
up our ships, and made an encampment as near to them 
as we could. 

On setting out next morning to explore, we had pro- 
ceeded but a little way before we came upon traces 
proving beyond a question that human beings had been 
in the neighbourhood quite recently. We entered nearly 
a dozen of the conical huts that we came to, in one of 
them finding a fire still burning, and in several of the 
others a variety of arms and implements, consisting of 
weapons made of polished stone, hatchets, and some copper 
caldrons. Examining them with greater minuteness, we 
ascertained that the huts had been abandoned in great 
haste; not only were there fragments of partially-con- 
sumed meat and fish, but one of the litters of reeds 
covered with moss was still warm from being lately 
occupied. I felt convinced that the natives must have 
evacuated their tenements in alarm at our approach, and 
suspecting that they were still lurking about, I ordered 
some red cloth, some beads, some bracelets and necklaces, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 26) 





and other things which I thought might attract their in- 
terest, to be displayed in one of the most spacious of the 
huts. I next made my people retire about three hundred 
paces, and waited to see the result of my device. 

Before long the savages returned, and seeing us stand 
quietly, without any apparent wish to molest them, they 
allowed themselves to be seen, and came nearer to us. I 
took Gisgo and advanced to meet them; but when he 
addressed them in the Celtic tongue, I found that they 
did not understand a word he said, but replied in a 
language that neither of us had ever heard before. Point- 
ing first to a neighbouring marsh, they cried, “Suom, 
Suom,” and then pointing to their own breasts, they said, 
“Suomi, Suomi,” from which I conjectured that they called 
a marsh “suom,” and that they were themselves “people 
of the marshes.” When they showed us their stone 
weapons, they pointed to the north-east and said “ Gothi ;” 
and what struck me as remarkable, they used the same 
word when they spoke of their articles of Tibarenian 
bronze. I had never before heard of a people of that 
name, but could not help wondering whether these “ Gothi” 
could by any possibility be Caucasians. 

I had seen many savages in my time, but I had 
never seen savages so frightfully ugly as these; their 
huge heads, flat faces, small eyes, enormous mouths, sallow 
complexions, made up a physiognomy that was simply 
hideous ; their short, thin legs appeared scarcely able te 
support their clumsy bodies. They made us understand 
by their gestures that their friends the “Gothi” were 
taller either than’ themselves’ or us. 

Besides being ugly, their appearance was most sordid. 
None of the ornaments so frequently worn by savage 
tribes adorned them, but their bodics were scantily pro- 
tected by fragments of skins, and their weapons, for the 
most part, were clumsy bludgeons, stone lances, and a kind 
of harpoon tipped with bone. One alone wore a necklace 
made of shells and pieces of uncut amber. He appeared 


262 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





to be a sort of chieftain, and as a token of his good-will he 
held out a wild bull’s horn full of some yellowish fluid; I 
was on the point of taking the horn into my hand, when 
Himilco, ever ready to guzzle, raised it to his lips; but no 
sooner had he tasted the contents than he dashed it to 
the ground, and began spitting and spluttering with every 
expression of disgust. 

“Ugh! the vile stuff!” he said, as soon as he could 
speak ; “it’s nothing in the world but beastly fish-oil ! 
Ugh!” 

Weall roared with laughter ; but the chief, highly offended 
at the way in which we received his proferred attention, 
assumed a threatening attitude, and in spite of my attempts 
to pacify him, withdrew with his followers to the woods. 

Poor Himilco looked very penitent when he saw the 
mischief he had done. 

“What a besotted idiot I am!” he exclaimed; “I 
declare I deserve nothing less than to be swung up to the 
nearest oak. But who was to know that what looked so 
tempting was nothing but stinking oil ?” 

“ Well, well,” I said; “never mind, you will have better 
luck another time. I don’t fear but that we shall soon have 
another opportunity of improving our acquaintance with 
these barbarians.” 

As we proceeded up the river we met occasional groups 
of the people, who were always full of gesticulations ; they 
snatched greedily at any gifts we offered them, but took 
themselves off directly we attempted to open any nego- 
tiations. 

A clearance in the wood made us suspect we were 
approaching a larger settlement, and we soon came to a 
large sheet of water, in the middle of which was an island 
crowded with conical huts, that in the centre being much 
higher than the rest. The island had been connected with 
the land by a narrow causeway, which the natives made 
us understand we were not to cross; but they were not 
altogether indisposed to transact business with us, and 





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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 263 





parted with some amber at a very low rate. But although 
they attached so little value to their amber, it was far 
otherwise with their weapons; we could not induce them 
to part with one of their clumsy lances nor one of their 
smallest bone hooks for any article that we could offer 
them. They showed us various implements of polished 
stone, and appeared to be desirous of getting more like 
them, exhibiting some surprise that we had none to 
exchange away. Bronze they had seen before, and they 
were acquainted with the use of bows and arrows; they 





i bt = 
S eae 


eo 
oe 


pointed to the birds upon the trees, as an indication that 
they wanted Bichri to shoot some; a desire on their part 
which he was more than ready to gratify. 

Not thinking it prudent to remain all night in our 
present position, I gave orders for making our way back 
to the ships, yielding, however, to the wish expressed by 
several of the Suomi to accompany us; but so dark was 
the night, and so bad were the roads, that we utterly 
lost our way amidst the quagmires. We wandered about 
till near daybreak, when six of us—IHfannibal, Chamai, 
Himilco, Bichri, one of the sailors, and myself—found 


264 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





ourselves up to our waists in a swamp. After extricating 
ourselves with much difficulty, we discovered that the rest 
of our party was out of sight, and although we shouted 
with all the strength of our lungs, we failed in making our- 
selves heard. Terrible as our situation was, there was a 
still greater dilemma in store. While we were anxiously 
endeavouring to find some waymarks to guide us, we were all 
at once surrounded by nearly two hundred of the savages, 
all stoutly armed. Resistance would have been useless even 
if it had been possible. The men had started, as if called 





by an incantation, from the tufted brushwood around, and 
before we could lay our hands upon our swords, they had 
felled us to the ground and pinioned our arms, yelling and 
dancing all the time. They did not allow us time to regain 
our feet, but pounced down upon us. Two men seized 
me by the arms, two by the feet, and a fifth, after taking 
away my sword, my cap, and my _ shoulder-belt, came 
dancing along behind, every now and then leaning close 
over me to peer into my face. They had all evidently 
tricked themselves out for their adventure ; their hair was 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 265 





dyed red, and their faces were tattooed blue and black 
with war-paints. 

After about an hour we were made to cross the causeway 
from which we had been repelled the day before, and 
alternately pushed and pulled, we were thrust into one of 
the huts. Hideous women and still more hideous children 
followed us in groups until we reached our destination, 
where a matting was fastened closely over the doorway, 
and we were left upon the cold damp ground in complete 
darkness, pillaged, bruised, and bound. There was the 
sound of retreating footsteps, and soon the noisy yells 
lapsed into perfect silence. 

If we had been pinioned with rope we might perhaps 
have contrived to extricate ourselves, but we had been tied 
with a tough twist made of bark, which lacerated our wrists 
every time we made an attempt to release them. Chamai 
groaned aloud with agony. 

“Who’s groaning?” asked Hannibal, his voice being at 
once recognised in the darkness. 

“T cannot slip these cursed cords,” said Chamai. 

“No,” said Himilco, “you might as well try to break a 
ship’s cable ;” and remembering that he had not heard 
either me or Bichri speak, he asked whether we were there. 

Bichri replied : 

“ Here we are, both of us; and I only wish old Judge 
Gebal was with us; he would have got us out of this 
dilemma.” 

“What do you mean?’ I said. “I don’t understand 
what good the monkey could do. Anyhow, we must 
now help ourselves; and that doesn’t seem a very easy 
business.” 

“Tf Hamilcar and Hasdrubal do not come to our rescue, 
I shall think them the vilest cowards on the face of the 
earth,” said Hannibal. 

“ Ah, you must not judge too hastily,” I answered; “I 
do not doubt but that they will do all in their power, but 
it is only too likely they have been attacked, and are in the 


266 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 
same ahebe as ourselves. Besides, I Hereby see Shee they 
are to get across that causeway.” 

“No difficulty there,” said the general, warming into 
enthusiasm ; “archers, right and left; fighting men in a 
column, four abreast ; sound your trumpets and zs 

He stopped abruptly ; the clang of a trumpet had caught 
his ears. 

“They come! they come !” cried Chamai, all excitement ; 
“The Lord of hosts be with them!” 

Another blast. 

Hannibal continued to expatiate very scientifically about 
columns of four and columns of eight, and bewailed his 
fate that he was not in command ; Bichri, less calm, fancied 
himself at the head of his troop. 

The notes of the trumpet seemed more and more 
distinct. 

“I cannot make out that trumpet,” said Himilco; “it 
does not sound like one of ours.” 

“Whose else should it be?” replied Hannibal, testily. 
“ Savages do not blow trumpets.” 

The pilot now insisted that the sound did not come 
across the water at all, but from the very centre of the huts. 

“And yet,” he said, “if it means an attack, I wonder 
we do not hear the war-cry.” 

We were all bewildered, and no less so when we heard 
three loud shouts rend the air, and the trumpet notes which 
had been going on at intervals for a quarter of an hour 
come to an end with a prolonged and thrilling flourish. 

“T never knew but one pair of lungs that could make a 
clarion ring out like that,” said Hirnilco. 

The name of Jonah rose simultaneously to the lips of us 
all, and Bichri said he should like to see Gebal come in and 
confirm our impression. 





“ Nonsense,” I said, “why indulge these foolish fancies ? 
we must be practical. If we are rescued by our troops, 
well and good ; otherwise we shall either have to buy our. 
selves off by a ransom or invent some ruse to escape.” 


6, 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 267 





The sailor who was with us, speaking now for the first 
time, reminded us that there were several canoes moored to 
the causeway, and Himilco recollected having noticed them. 
This set us speculating whether we could devise any means 
of getting at the canoes, and using them to facilitate our 
escape. Hannibal declared that we should still be in the 
clutches of the savages, even if we got to land; but Bichri 
and Chamai maintained that once free they could take good 
care of themselves. 

I interrupted them to inquire whether any one amongst 
them had a knife, but it proved, as might have been ex- 
pected, that the savages had not left us anything of the 
sort. 

“Then roll yourself over here, Bichri,” I said, “and see 
whether you cannot gnaw this twisted stuff off my hands.” 

“I have pretty good teeth,” replied the youth, “and I 
will try.” 

Silence fell upon us all as we listened to him shuffling 
along the ground and panting with his exertions. I cannot 
tell how long it was before I felt his warm breath upon my 
hands, but it seemed to me at least half an hour. He 
nibbled indefatigably at the cord, giving my flesh an 
occasional grip in the process, until the material was re- 
duced to the substance of twine, when by a slight effort of 
my own I burst it asunder, and I was free. An exclama- 
tion of delight broke from my lips, and I was about to 
liberate the others, when Himilco, who was lying across the 
doorway, said : 

“ Hush! some one comes !” 

In an instant I twisted the broken cord around my wrists, 
but only just before a party of several of the savages 
entered the hut. One of them having fastened back the 
covering at the door, took a long pole and pushed up a 
kind of trap that had closed the aperture at the top that 
served the purpose of a chimney, and the gleams of light 
afforded by these two openings allowed us to inspect our 
place of confinement. 


268 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





The hut was perfectly empty, without an article of furni: 
ture; the walls were grimed with soot and smoke; upos 
the clay floor three rude stones formed a kind of fire-place, 
which was filled with ashes and the refuse of some victuals. 
A cold drizzling rain penetrated the hole in the roof, and 
pattered down upon the ground below. 

The men that had entered were elaborately covered with 
their war-paint. One of them had the head and skin of a 
bear drawn over his face like a mask, in the way that I 
have seen done by the Assyrians; another wore upon his 
shoulders the head and horns of an elk. A third, who 
carried a stick in his hand, ushered the other two into the 
middle of the hut, where they began dancing and making 
the strangest of contortions, but all without uttering a 
word. After this had gone on for some time, one of the 
two, who wore a necklace made of the teeth of wild animals, 
and who apparently was the chief, walked up to me, and 
stood gazing in my face. I noticed that he had my own 
sword in his hand. He began a long harangue of which 
I could not understand a word, but observed that he re- 
peatedly said “Jono,” and as often as he did so, all the 
others gave a loud shout. When his oration came to an 
end, the savage sprinkled us with some stinking liquor, 
which he poured from a horn ; and having in chorus muttered 
some kind of refrain that ended in “ Jono,” they all quitted 
the hut, fastening the doorway securely behind them. 

“No chance of making terms with such brutes as these,” 
I indignantly exclaimed, when we were again alone. 

“ Patience!” said Hannibal; “only let me get my hands 
at liberty, and I'll guarantee to floor half-a-dozen of them, 
unarmed as I am.” 

Himilco avowed that he was burning for a chance to 
avenge himself for the filthy fish-oil ; and Chamai protested 
that though the brutes should be as countless as the palms 
of Jericho or the fleas at Shechem, he would outwit them 
yet, and find his way back to Abigail. 

While they had been talking in this strain, I had dis- 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 269 





engaged my hands, and very soon succeeded in freeing 
Bichri, who assisted me in liberating all the rest. Once 
again upon their feet, they stretched their stiff and weary 
limbs, and Hannibal, Chamai, and Himilco each armed 
themselves with one of the stones that formed the fire- 
place. 

“ Here’s something that may smash a skull or two,” said 
Chamai, as he poised his stone aloft. 

“Not altogether a military-looking weapon,” was 
Hannibal’s remark, whilst he examined the cumbersome 
missile; “but our forefathers have done good execution 
with worse.” 

Picking up a few fragments of stone, Bichri was be- 
ginning to lament that he had not a sling, when Himilco 
in a moment produced the rope which he invariably wore, 
and tore off a piece of the goat-skin that had carried his 
wine, and with these materials the young archer was not 
long in putting together a sling which he hoped might do 
him good service. 

Night closed in. It was still raining; the wind blew 
furiously. Everything seemed to favour our escape. 

“Now’s your time, my men!” I said. “Make your 
prayer to your gods, and we will be off at once.” 

It was agreed that if we should find more than one 
sentinel, we should fight our way through and make for 
the canoes, and that if we failed in that attempt, we should 
take to the water, and swim to the far end of the cause- 
way. Our watch-word should be three raven-croaks. 

“ Now, invoke your gods,” I repeated. 

There was silence in the hut, and I noticed that Himilco 
raised his single eye to the aperture in the roof, as though 
looking for the Cabiri, but there was nothing to be seen 
except the pitchy blackness of the night. 

I was about to lead the way, when, on peering out, I not 
only heard the sound of footsteps, but saw the glimmer of 
a torch. My heart beat fast, and I made my companions 
arrange themselves on either side of the doorway, so as ta 


270 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





guard the entrance. It seemed to me that there were 
not more than one or two approaching. Chamai pressed 
his back against the wall, ready to brain the first savage 
that came within reach; but whoever they were that were 
coming, it was evident that they were not hurrying them- 
selves: they paused in quiet conversation outside, and 
at intervals we could again catch the mysterious word 
“ Jono.” 

“YT wonder whether they are going to give us any more 
of their beastly sprinkling,” said Himilco. 

“T have something here,” muttered Hannibal, “that ney, 
give them a sprinkling they don’t expect.” 

Breaking the silence of the night, we now heard the 
ringing notes of the trumpet, followed by yells and voci- 
ferations. The clamour was obviously a signal, for at the 
same moment the covering at the door was raised, and a 
man carrying a torch entered the hut, and closed the 
entrance behind him. But scarcely had he advanced a 
step, when four strong arms arrested him. Chamai’s hand 
was across the intruder’s mouth, effectually stopping any 
outcry he might raise ; I took possession of his torch ; and 
Himilco, having lifted the stone above his head, was about 
to hurl it on his victim, when he let it fall to the ground 
and ejaculated : 

“Merciful Cabiri !” 

I raised the torch to the visitor’s face, and in a moment 
had thrown myself upon his neck. It was Ianno. 

The sailor picked up the torch that I had dropped in 
my excitement, and enabled Hanno in his turn to re- 
cognise us. 

We were speechless. 

For some moments we could do nothing but grasp each 
other’s hands and embrace our long-lost friend. 

Hanno himself was the first to speak. 

“Don’t strangle me quite. What a joyful surprise is this !” 

“Out with a joke, Hanno!” cried Hannibal, “or I shall 
never believe it’s you!” 


d 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 271 





Hanno did not smile, but inquired anxiously about 
Chryseis. Hearing from me that she was safe and well, 
his eyes filled with tears, and he murmured : 

“ Ashtoreth be praised !” 

A violent thumping outside brought us back to a sense 
of our real position, and when the thumping was renewed 
Hanno went to the door, and having addressed some one 
with a few guttural words, which were received with a haif- 
approving grunt, he returned to us. 

“And now,” he said, his voice assuming its old tone of 
vivacity, “perhaps you would like to know what brings 
me here. I am come to conduct you to the grand temple 
of the Suomi; and a fine structure you will see it is, built 
of reeds and fish-bones in tip-top style. You are there to 
be sacrificed to the great god Jono.” 

“So then Jono is a god, is he?” I said; “but if you are 
his high priest I presume we need not give ourselves much 
alarm.” 

Himilco said that if this Jono were the god of fish-oil 
he most heartily wished that he might be sent some 
hundred fathoms down below the sea. 

“Gently, gently, good pilot!” said Hanno, with mock 
solemnity ; “ you must not speak disparagingly of the great 
divinity. I can, however, tell you one thing. Jono has no 
more liking for fish-oil than you have yourself. No one 
loves a draught of good wine better. And I may as well 
tell you at once who he is. He is none other than our friend 
Jonah of Eltekeh! our incomparable trumpeter, Jonah!” 

“AhT didnt i say, ered Himilco, “that no-one but 
Jonah could bring out such a flourish as that ?” 

Hanno went on to tell us that the people were already 
assembled in the temple awaiting the arrival of ourselves, 
their destined victims, and in reply to Chamai, who suggested 
that we should rise up and attack them bodily, informed us 
that there were more than three thousand of them, so that 
any resistance on our part would not only be useless, but 
must result in our immediate destruction. 


272 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAG). 





“No;” he continued; “you have no alternative but 
to trust yourselves implicitly to the influence of the mighty 
Jono and of his high priest Hono, your humble servant. 
My first proceeding will be to acquaint the assembly 
that I have released you from your bonds, and that by 
the agency of magic I have rendered you quite mild and 
submissive.” 

“ Allow me to interrupt you for a moment,” I said ; “but 
I am intensely anxious to learn whether you know any- 
thing of our comrades ?” 

“They are now on their way hither,” replied Hanno; 
“and the very object with which the Suomi propose to 
sacrifice you is to propitiate their god, so that he may 
vouchsafe them the victory.” 

Hannibal burst out enthusiastically : 

“T knew our fellows would come to our defence ; brave 
souls they are! we'll conquer yet !” 

“Not so fast,’ was the reply ; “you must be content to 
leave everything to me. I will send a message to Hamilcar 
and Hasdrubal. See now; I have my writing materials 
ready; I made myself a calamus from the marsh-reeds ; 
my ink is some of the Suomi war-paint ; and for papyrus 
I have a piece of deer-skin.” 

Hanno wrote and talked at once; and as soon as he had 
finished he turned to us: ; 

“Now then, follow me to the temple. You need be under 
no apprehension yet. I will take care that the god shall 
declare that he does not require your lives at present. 
This will give some hours’ respite. In the interval I shall 
beable, I trust tovsend@my letter, to oursiriends, Jeet us 
go: but one more word of caution; you must be careful 
above all things not to laugh at any of our proceedings.” 

“You will have to conjure pretty cleverly,” I said, “ if 
you are going to conjure us out of this dilemma.” 

“Well, you know,” he said with a smile, “I have had 
some education in this line. I have learnt a bit of the craft 
of a priest and a magician ; though I acknowledge I did not 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 273 





anticipate that I should have to practise under the present 
circumstances.” 

Taking his torch, he led the way; and with downcast 
eyes, and much to the amazement of some savages who 
were waiting outside, we filed demurely after him. 

The island which we proceeded to cross was considerably 
larger than it had at first sight appeared. The huts were 
arranged in irregular clusters, each group surrounded by its 
own palisade. The road was very dark, and we had to ford 
a number of pools of water, while the rain splashed heavily 
down upon our bare heads. After winding through the 
labyrinth of huts, we reached an open place in the heart of 
the village, lighted with torches, and thronged with a crowd 
of Suomi, armed and coloured with their paint. The central 
hut into which we were conducted was much larger than 
the others, and served the purpose of a temple; it was 
circular, and had the appearance of a gigantic fee a 
The interior was lighted with torches, and with pans of oil, 
furn:shed with flaming wicks, which had been made of bark ; 
it was crowded with the savages, and what with the fumes 
of the torches, the vile odour of the burning oil, and the 
stench of the grease with which the savages had smeared 
their bodies, the atmosphere of the place was positively 
sickening. 

On first entering the assembly the mist was so thick, and 
the confusion from the noise of the savages, who were 
raving like maniacs, was so great, that I could not dis- 
tinguish the venerated deity; but as I gradually got 
accustomed to the smoky glare and the boisterous hubbub, 
I made out that there was a kind of dais or altar piled up 
with every conceivable variety of natural products,—skins 
of beasts, intestines of fishes, bladders of sea-calves, 
feathers of birds—mounted upon which, daubed with blue 
and crimson, and adorned with bulls’ horns and sea-calves 
tusks, was the god himself. Not a feature could I dis- 
tinguish ; one only object seemed familiar; in one of his 
crimson hands the god held the very trumpet which I had 

T 


274 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





purchased for twelve silver shekels of Khelesh-baal the 
merchant of Tyre. 

The savages did more than make room for us to pass ; 
they thrust us forward till we were close in front of the 
altar-shrine. Hanno placed himself at the side of the god, 
who, at a given signal, raised his trumpet to his mouth and 
blew a deafening blast. A few words from Hanno made 
the entire assembly, except ourselves, prostrate themselves 
with their faces to the very ground, and thus left standing 
conspicuously above the rest, the god could not fail to 
recognise us. 

No words of mine can describe Jonah’s amazement. 
Eyes, nose, and mouth, were all distended until the very 
paint broke in scales upon his face. He was dumbfounded 
for the time, and only after a long stare of astonishment, 
exclaimed : 

“ Baal Chamaim! lord of the heavens!” 

A sensation of terror thrilled through the prostrate wor 
shippers. The mighty Jono had spoken ! 

“Hold your tongue, you fool!” exclaimed Hannibal, 
with sonorous solemnity, but in plain Phoenician. The god 
started, and said no more. 

The crowd of worshippers shivered with awe. 

All at once a piercing shriek echoed through the temple. 
A black-haired object, ill-defined, had made a tremendous 
bound, and perching upon the head of the divinity himself, 
began tearing his hair, scratching his face, and hugging 
and caressing him with wild delight. The savages started 
to their feet in consternation, and some of them fled at 
once ; but when they saw their god drop his trumpet and 
take the apparition in his arms, and heard him say to it, 
“ Gebal, Gebal! dear little man! and have you found out 
your poor old Jonah?” their terror knew no bounds, and 
they rushed frantically out, leaving us absolutely by our- 
selves. 

Chamai on one side gave the god a good dig in his ribs, 
while Hanno on the other kicked him pretty sharply on the 





ti lq ui yo 
N ge. 


THE GOD 
To face page 275 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 275 





leg, but neither of these attentions seemed to disconcert 
him in th2 least ; he came forward and said: 

“Delighted to see you all, my friends ; an unexpected 
pleasure : you know Iam a god now; what shall I order 
for you to eat ?” 

“Back to your seat, jackanapes !” cried Hanno, severely, 
“and don’t speak another word until I give you leave.” 

For a moment Jonah’s dignity seemed somewhat wounded, 
and he hesitated about complying ; but upon my promising 
him a good skin of wine, he returned to his shrine without 
further murmuring. Hanno re-arranged the trumpery 
jewellery with which the god was bedecked, and Bichri 
whistled the monkey back to his own shoulder. 

'“Here’s a messenger,” said Hanno, “that I think will 
answer my purpose-very well.” 

And turning to the creature, who was making the oddest 
grimaces, he said: 

“Now, Gebal, take this to Hamilcar, quick; and you 
shall have some cake.” 

The monkey appeared perfectly to comprehend what 
was wanted, snatched the piece of skin that was held out 
to it, gnashed its teeth, and on three legs hopped rapidly 
out of the temple. A buzz of mingled surprise and fright 
made us aware that the animal had passed through the 
crowd outside. 

“ So far, so good,” said Hanno; “ now for the next scene. 
You must all prostrate yourselves to the ground before 
Jonah. Iam going to recal the Suomi.” 

Jonah was taken aback, and modestly remonstrated 
against this humiliation on our part ; but Chamai, by way 
of enforcing obedience to Hanno’s injunction of silence, 
gave him a sharp blow across his mouth, and then came 
and took up with the rest of us his posture of outward 
reverence and awe. 

Standing at the doorway in the character of Hono the 
priest, Hanno encouraged the people to re-enter their temple. 
Gradually the more courageous were induced to return, 


276 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





and ultimately about fifty, still tren ulous with their recent 
alarm, were assembled in front of the shrine. Jono once 
-again made the building ring with a tremendous blast, and 
Hanno delivered a brief oration, which seemed to have a 
soothing effect. The Suomi quietly retired, and we could 
hear them placing sentinels outside to prevent any one 
from entering. 

Finding that we were not likely to be disturbed again, 
Hanno extinzuished all the lights except two torches, 
and led us into the darkest corner of the temple, whither 
Jonah, after flinging off all his gew-gaws, was only toc 
delighted to follow us. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 277 





CHAPTER XVIII. 
JONAH WAXES AMBITIOUS. 


* WHERE’S my wine ?” was Jonah’s first inquiry. 

“Coming in good time,” I answered ; “ but you must have 
patience to wait, it may be a few months.” 

The giant looked aghast and stup-fied, until he was re- 
called to himself by a friendly poke from Chamai. 

“Glad to see you amongst us again, old tippler !” 

“ And I am glad too,” he said; “but what am I to do 
next ?” 

“ Whatever else you do, you must obey Hanno,” I said ; 
“he is trying to accomplish our escape to our ships.” 

What I informed him seemed to have the effect of 
plunging him into a deep reverie; he knitted his forehead 
till a layer of red paint peeled off, and at last roused him- 
self to ask if he should have to accompany us. 

“Certainly,” I replied; “unless you prefer remaining 
with these barbarians.” 

“ And with their revolting fish-oil,” put in Himilco. 

“But here Iam a god,” said the trumpeter, slowly, as if 
pondering the matter. “On board ship, Chamai knocks me 
about, and Hannibal kicks me, and every one calls me a 
lubber : but here it is all different ; instead of being thumped, 
I may thump whom I please ; I gave the god of the savages 
in the north such a thrashing that he died an hour 
afterwards. At home too, in Eltekeh, the little children 
used to call me a blockhead, and the men used to make me 
carry olive-baskets on my head and sacks of corn on my 


278 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





back, and scant measure of wine did I ever get; but here, 
I blow my trumpet, and in there comes no end of good 
things, meat and venison and fish, more than I can eat. 
It’s no bad thing to be a god.” 

We all stared in amazement. He had never been known 
to make such a long speech before, far less to arrive so logi- 
cally at any conclusion ; at any rate, his deification had 
expanded his ideas, and inspired him with a new ambition. 

“So then,” I said, “you do not mean to go back 
with us.” 

He hesitated ; but soon said that where Hanno went he 
should go too. 

Himilco began to jeer him: 

“QO! you mean that you like Suomi fish-oil better than 
Helbon wine? and you prefer the chilly fogs of the 
marshes to the olive-yards of Dan? and you like slices of 
rein-deer more than wheat and honey cakes ?” 

A tear stood trembling in the giant’s eye. 

“T think,” he said, “I would rather go with you.” 

“ And surely,” added Hanno, “you would wish to go 
back to Eltekeh ; you must want to tell them all about the 
leviathans, and the behemoths, and Nergal’s kitchen, and 
how you have been a god yourself.” 

“They would’nt believe me!”’ 

“ And think,” said Bichri, “we shall have old Gebal with 
us to show the men of Dan!” 

This last appeal was too much for Jonah, and fairly 
bursting out into tears, he sobbed out : 

“Yes, I must go; I must go with you and Gebal.” 

Hannibal laughed outright at what he called Jonah’s 
calf’s tears, but declared that he was really very pleased to 
have his trumpeter back again, and pulling out two silver 
shekels from his purse, which he had contrived to retain, he 
said: 

“There, man, take these; they will pay somebody te 
give you a good wash when you get on board.” 

Hanno now proceeded to explain his scheme. The 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MA\GO. 279 


mL 





written message he had sent to Hamilcar was to the 
effect that he should parley with the Suomi until he heard 
the sound of Jonah’s trumpct, and snould then answer the 
signal by his own trumpet. 

“T shall pretend to the savages,” he continued, “that 
their god has ordered them to lead out their victims for 
sacrifice, and if by this stratagem we can once get over the 
causeway and within reach of our own people, everything 
is easy.” 

Approving of his plan, I merely observed that there 
might be some difficulty in knowing when our comrades 
were holding their parley ; but Hanno at once assured me 
that the savages would not do anything without consulting 
him as their priest, so that he should be fully informed of 
everything that transpired. 

We had now been twenty-four hours without food, and 
were suffering from fatigue and hunger. Hannibal ventured 
to ask whether some provisions were not to be had, and in 
an instant Hanno went to the door and uttered a few 
syllables that sounded something like the croaking of an 
old crow. 

“T have told them,” he said, “that Jono wants some- 
thing to eat. They know what his appetite is; I dare- 
say they will bring enough for you all.” 

Very shortly there was a knocking at the entrance of the 
temple ; some savages had brought platters of boiled fish 
and roast venison, and several large horns full of drink, the 
whole of which Hanno took from their hands at the door 
and passed on to us. Half-famished as we were, we made 
short work with the dishes, the god appropriating as his 
own modest share a fish half as large as a tunny, anda 
reindeer-steak. Hanno joined us, and asked innumerable 
questions all the time we were eating Both he and Jonah 
drank freely from the horns, which had been placed with 
their small ends on the ground ; but Himilco and Hannibal 
could not conceal their disgust at seeing them swallow 
what they supposed to be rancid oil. Hanno, however, 


280 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





soon explained that the contents of the horns was a liquid 
made of fermented barley and some vegetable juice, and 
that it was the common beverage, not only of the Suomi 
and Cymri, but of the Celts of the west, the Gothi of the 
east, and the Germani of the south. 

“T should not think of saying that it is in any way equal 
to the juice of the grape,” he said; “but it is really not 
unpalatable ; you may safely taste it.” 

Hannibal looked doubtful. Himilco said that he had 
heard Gisgo speak of some preparation of the kind before, 
and that he was not sure he had not himself tasted it 
at the mouth of the Rhone; he raised one of the horns 
cautiously to his lips, sipped, and said nothing. 

We all in turn followed his example. Bichri pronounced 
it very acid ; Chamai declared it was detestably bitter; the 
sailor and I both recognised it as very like what we had 
tasted elsewhere. 

“Not good for much!” said Hannibal, after he had 
taken a good draught ; “is it intoxicating ?” 

“ Most assuredly it is,” replied Hanno. 

“The most villainous stuff I ever tasted,” said Himilco, 
the last to pass an opinion. “ However, I think I will have 
a little more.” 

And he drained another horn. 

“Disgusting!” he sputtered out; but he seemed so 
thoroughly to have reconciled himself to the flavour of 
what he abused, that I was only fearful that he would take 
more than was good for him. 

By the time we had finished our refreshment, day was 
beginning to dawn. and Hanno was summoned outside; 
he returned almost immediately, ordered Jonah to sound 
his trumpet, and bade us all be prepared to start. 

Jonah went to the doorway and delivered a_ ringing 
blast. 

[limilco hastily emptied every one of the horns, pro- 
testing all the while that it was odious stuff, sickening to 
the palate, and almost as vile a drink as plain water. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 281 





In answer to Jonah’s signal we soon heard the rever- 
beration of our Phcenician trumpets, and without loss of 
time, Jonah and Hanno at our head, we marched out 
of the temple. The crowd outside, regarding us with a 
superstitious reverence, allowed us to pass freely through 
them, and to proceed onwards without hindrance, so that 
in the course of half-an-hour we were in the midst of our 
friends, Hanno clasping Chryscis in his arms, Jonah 
hugging Judge Gebal, and Chamai so engaged with 
Abigail, that he did not notice how Hannibal, Himilco, 





and Bichri had been mercilessly thrashing a group of the 
nearest Savages. 

Our reception by our party had the immediate effect of 
opening the eyes of the barbarians to the terrestrial nature 
vf their supposed god; and they no sooner became aware 
how we had escaped their clutches than they began to 
assail us with showers of stones and lances, so that our 
retreat to the ships was a matter of considerable peril. 
No one, however, was seriously injured; there were many 
slight contusions, and Jonah’s nose was ignominiously 
bruised by a stone hurled at him by one of his late 
worshippers. 

Once safely on board, we made no delay in turning our 


282 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO., 





backs upon this inhospitable shore, and steering west- 
wards, made towards the island of Prydhayn. 

With a calm sea and a favourable wind, our progress 
was easy; and anxious to learn all that had befallen 
Hanno and Jonah since we had lost them, we assembled 
on the stern of the Ashtoreth expressly to hear thei 
story. Jonah, who had been well washed, insisted upon 
being dressed in Phcenician costume, and took his seat, 
with the monkey upon his shoulder, by the side of the 
scribe, who proceeded to recount their adventures. 

“It is now, you know, more than a year since the day 
when we were caught in the ambush of the men of Tar- 
shish. When we were first captured our lives were in the 
greatest jeopardy, for according to what we were told by 
a Phoenician I met, we were at once to be handed over to 
Bodmilcar, who was close at hand. Negotiations to this 
effect were going on, when it transpired that one of the 
Iberian chiefs had been so fascinated by Jonah’s trumpet 
that we were to be retained, and not given over to the 
Tyrian, who was reported to be wounded. During this 
respite I contrived, by means of a stick and some blood 
from a wound of my own, to write a message for you on 
my sandal-strap; I had no doubt that the instinct of 
Gebal would take him back to Bichri, and accordingly I 
resolved to make him my messenger.” 

“Yes; and your message came that night,” I said. 

“T conjectured so,” he continued, “by the monkey not 
returning. We were soon sent off towards the north, 
under the guardianship of a troop of Iberians, who did not 
by any means treat us badly, and after a toilsome journey 
came to a region where the mountains were so high that 
they were all covered with snow; they separated the land 
of Tarshish from the land of the Celts, and were called the 
Pyrenees. Here we were handed over to the chief of the 
Guipuzcoa, for whom we were destined. These Guipuzcoa 
are sometimes known as Bascons; they are a warlike 
people, perpetually engaged in hostilities with the Aitzcoa, 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 283 


or “men of the rocks,” on the north-west, and with other 
Iberians on the south. We remained for more than two 
months before any opportunity of escape occurred ; but at 
last, during one of the forays, we were left behind in the 
village, which was built upon piles at the mouth of a small 
river. We got possession of a canoe, and having filled it 
as far as we could with provisions, we ventured out to sea, 
and contrived to reach the shores of the Celts, from whom, 
in answer to many inquiries, I ascertained that some ships 
had recently passed along their coast, and, from various 














articles that they showed me, I had little doubt they were the 
A shtoreth, the Dagon, and the Cadiros. Making out from 
the Celts that you had gone northwards, we left our canoe, 
and took passage in one of their ships that was on the 
point of sailing for Ar-Mor; but upon our arrival we found 
the people engaged in war with the Cymri of the Island of 
Prydhayn, so that we could not get transported there. For 
two months | sojourned in various parts of the islands of 
Ar-Mor, and picked up some knowledge of Celtic ; but all 
the time I was trying to devise some plan of following you 


284 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





in the direction I felt sure you had taken. At length it 
chanced that I found a tribe of Cymri who were not at war 
with the people of Prydhayn, and embarked in one of their 
boats ; but a tremendous storm arose, and we were driven 
far away to the east.” 

“Talk of storms,” said Jonah, putting in his word ; “was 
not that a storm? I saw leviathans spouting water from 
their noses as high as your mast, and we were tossed about 
the waters like a log. For three days we had nothing 
to eat or to drink.” 

“Jonah is right,’ continued Hanno; “the tempest was 
really frightful, and we were dashed upon the muddy 
swamps of the coast. The Cymri drowned themselves 
in sheer desperation, and we, more dead than alive, existed 
for more than a week upon roots and wild fruit from the 
wood.” 

“ And what did you find to drink ?” asked Himilco. 

“Nothing but muddy water.” 

The good pilot’s sympathy was deeply moved, and he 
said: 

“Sorry drink that, as I know by experience.” 

After this interruption, Hanno went on: 

“Jonah persisted in blowing his trumpet perpetually, 
resolved if possible to attract attention, and at length 
succeeded in making himself heard by a troop of Suomi 
who were migrating eastwards in consequence of the 
aggressions of the Cymri and the Germani, who were 
appropriating territory after territory to themselves. Not 
only did Jonah’s enormous trumpet excite the wonder of 
the Suomi, but I could observe at once that his huge and 
imposing stature, and his abundant growth of shaggy hair 
impressed this diminutive, smooth-faced people with super- 
stitious awe, a sentiment which I resolved to encourage, with 
the object of turning it to our own advantage. We accom- 
panied them in their migration to their new settlement, 
where we witnessed the erection of the village in which 
you found us, and my representations prevailed so com- 


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SG 
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Load 


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hae 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 255 





pietely that they recognised Jonah—Jono, as they called 
him—as their presiding deity, regarding me as his high 
priest. For some time, then, you see we have been in the 
lap of luxury; but nothing has ever led me for a moment 
to forget you or your ships, or to cease to long for the 
Great Sea and our noble Sidon.” 

“And Sidon ere long you shall see!” said I, when he 
had finished his narrative ; “ we are now on our way back ; 
it is impossible to penetrate farther, and we are homeward 
bound.” 

“Sidon for ever! and long live the King!” shouted 
Chamai ; “ we shall see the sun again.” 

“And get some wine!” cried Himilco, tossing his cap in 
the air. 

“ And some new clothes!” chimed in Hannibal ; “ beggars 
in rags are our soldiers now.” 

In the midst of the general hilarity Jonah sat silent and 
full of thought. 

“What ails you, trumpeter?” I asked; “cannot you 
quite make up your mind to go back ?” 

“It is no good my going back,” he half blubbered out ; 
“they will never believe me; they will only laugh when I 
tell them I have been to Nergal’s kitchen and seen behe- 
moths by dozens; and if I were to say I have been 
worshipped for a god, and had dinners brought me every 
day, big enough for a month, they will declare I’m stark 
mad.” 

“Never mind, old fellow,” said Chamai; “we'll back 
you up; we will testify to the truth of your stories ; and 
what’s more, you shall be presented to the King, and he 
shall hear you blow your trumpet.” 

Overcome by Chamai’s good-natured encouragement, 
and his own prospective honours, he fairly burst into tears. 

“Do you really mean it? and will the King see Gebal 
too?” 

“Aye, that he will; and we must teach old Gebal to 
act the courtier, and to make a bow.” 


je? 


286 THE ALVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Hannibal declared that he thought Jonah ought to be 
court-trumpeter, and to wear a scarlet tunic; and I 
pledged myself to use any influence I could to secure him 
the appointment, promising that if I succeeded I would 
make him a present of his first uniform. 

Jonah chuckled aloud with delight. 

“And shall I wear a scarlet tunic? and shall I play 
before the King ? What will they say at Eltekeh ? Happy 
day that made me come to Tarshish! Long live the 
King !” 

With ejaculations such as these he withdrew to the 
extreme limit of the prow, and relapsing into silence, 
mused in solitude upon the dignity that awaited him. 

From that day forward, Jonah was another man, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 287 





CHAPTER XIX. 
BODMILCAR AGAIN. 


SOME easy sailing carried us past both the eastern and 
western limits of Prydhayn and the Tin Islands, and 
brought us off the rocky shores of the archipelago o 
Ar-Mor, with its islands all perforated and undermined 
by the action of the waves. Hanno recognised nearly 
every locality. 

“There,” he said, pointing out one spot after another, 
“there is the island where I learnt to croak my little bit of 
Celtic; and that is the rock from which Jonah and I used 
to fish with bone-hooks ; and over there is the island where 
the priestesses paint their faces blue and black for their 
religious mysteries. Whilst we were with them they 
wanted us to shave all our hair off our faces, with razors 
made of shells.” 

“They gave the same advice,” said Himilco, “on the 
Tin Islands to Hannibal and Chamai, who came back to us 
one day with their beards gone and their chins as smooth 
as pebbles.” 

“T only wish,” remarked Hannibal, “that they would do 
for Bodmilcar what we did for ourselves ; only instead of a 
shell I should like to have a good sharp sword put across 
his throat.” 

The mention of Bodmilcar’s name led Hanno to inquire 
whether we knew anything of him; and this led Hannibal 
to tell him how on the day of the ambush he had given him 
a thrust in his side, which had been, no doubt, severely 
wounded, but his people had succeeded in carrying him off 


288 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 








“Never mind,” exclaimed Chamai; “we are sure te 
have another chance.” 

“And then I trust,” said Hanno, “it will fall to my lot 
to deal with him after his deserts.” 

“Unless I am beforehand with an arrow from my good 
- bow,” said a voice from the yard-arm high up in the air. 
Bichri and Dionysos were up there, playing with the 
monkey. Hanno laughed, and said that Bichri had been 
associated so long with the monkey that he was becoming 
a monkey himself, and was making Dionysos just as 
volatile. Without leaving his perch Bichri asked : 

“Why should I not teach the boy the use of his limbs ? 
and why should I not drill him to use a bow ?” 

“And why,” added Hanno, “should you not teach him 
to read ?” 

“How can I,” he said, “when I have never learnt 
myself ? besides, reading will not help him to climb moun- 
tains, hunt wild goats, or put an arrow in a mark.” 

“You may learn some day,” rejoined the scribe, “that a 
pen may be a surer and a sharper weapon than an arrow. 
Would you and Dionysos like to learn to read ?” 

Startled by the suggestion, the archer caught hold of 
a rope, and in an instant had slid down to Hanno’s feet. 
Dionysos followed. The monkey flew up to the mast- 
head. 

“To learn to read, did you say ?” 

“Yes,” replied Hanno. “Let us make a compact; you 
shall teach me to shoot, and I will teach you both to 
read,” 

“ Agreed!” cried Bichri, enthusiastically ; “and I'll war- 
rant that in a month you shall hit a mark no bigger than 
my hand at the ship’s length.” 

And so the days passed on. Hanno taught Bichri and 
the young Phocian the alphabet. Himilco, as he piloted 
the vessel, kept up a perpetual nowling over his compulsory 
abstinence; Chamai and Hannibal, when they were not 
yawning in idle listlessness, were generally playing at 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 280 





knuckle-bones ; the two women gossipped contentedly in 
their cabin ; and Jonah confided to Judge Gebal his dreams 
of future greatness. 

In something more than six weeks we sighted the pillars 
of Melkarth, and shortly afterwards entered the harbour of 
Gades. The suffect, Ziba, and all our acquaintances had 
imagined that we had long since been drowned, and were 
loud in their congratulations on seeing us back again safe 
and well, and were full of surprise when I exhibited my 
magnificent cargo of tin and amber. 

I inquired eagerly about Bodmilcar, but could only gather 
from the suffect’s account that fragments of what were sup- 
posed to be his vessels had been picked up at the mouth of 
the Illiturgis, but that nothing whatever had been seen 
of his gaoul, so that the most probable conjecture I could 
form was that the scoundrel had been massacred in the 
interior of the country. 

It cannot be denied that we had all been looking forward 
with much impatience for the opportunity of obtaining 
some decent food and drink. Huimilco was really getting 
exhausted with his subsistence for so many months on a 
water diet ; so that on reaching land I took the very earliest 
chance of allowing my men to go ashore, where, doubtless, 
they directed their steps only too quickly to the wine- 
shops. Before Jonah left the ship I observed that he had 
some shekels in his hand, and asked him if he would not 
put them in his purse. 

“No,” he said ; “they will never be quite safe until I have 
changed them for wine, and put them into my inside.” 

Hanno, Chamai, and their sweethearts went with me to 
dinner at Ziba’s house; Bichri and Dionysos wandered 
about the strects and gardens of the city ; while Hannibal, 
who said that now that we had come to a civilised country 
he should wish his trumpeter to be a credit to his troop, 
carried off Jonah to buy him a proper tunic. 

We had given up two days to recreation when, returning 
to the Ashtoreth, 1 met Himilco and Gisgo, both extremely 

U 


290 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





excited, in company with a Phcenician sailor who was a 
stranger to me. 

“Good news, captain!” shouted Himilco, as soon as he 
was within hearing; “good news! tidings of Bodmilcar !” 

“Tell me, quick!” I answered impatiently. 

“Well, you must know,” said Himilco, who was anything 
but steady upon his legs, ‘‘ we met this good man ; he was 
thirsty and we were thirsty, and I treated him to a cup at 
a tavern, where he told us that he had escaped from Bod- 
milcar’s ship.” 

“Leave your plagued thirst,” I said; “go on, tell me 
what you know.” 

“Leave my thirst ? no, no; it’s my thirst will not leave 
ine. 

“Curse you!” I said, half-frantic with irritation ; “teil 
me at once!” 

“Give me time and I will tell you all that he told us in 
the tavern.” 

“Where’s Bodmilcar? you drunken fool!” I roared, 
stamping with rage ; and turning in despair to the sailor, 
said: “Tell me, my good man, where have you come 
from ?” 

“Come from?” echoed the irrepressible pilot; “why he 
has come with us; he has come from where we have been 
dr nking.” 

My patience was exhausted, and I struck him a sharpish 
blaw across the mouth, a hint that he took that he had 
better keep quiet. 

According to what I could make out from the sailor’s 
version of things, he had come from an unfrequented bay 
some 150 stadia to the south-east ; that Bodmilcar haa 
been there, at first with one gaoul, the J/e/karth, but after- 
wards he had three galleys besides ; that he had forced a 
number of the natives of Tarshish into his service ; and that 
by some means he had collected a great body of criminals 
and deserters. He had himself, he said, been kidnapped by 
Bodmilcar, but had contrived to “scape, and having made 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO 291 





his way on foot along the coast, was now going to make 
his deposition before the naval suffect at Gades. 

I inquired how long it was since he had run away from 
Bodmilcar, and whether he knew anything of Bodmilcar’s 
movements. Hereplied that it was a week since he effected 
his escape, and that he knew that it was the Tyrian’s inten- 
tion to make for the country of the Rasenne, and thence 
to proceed to Ionia. 

Telling the man that I was returning to Tyre, I offered 
him a passage with me, if he liked, as one of my crew, to 
which he agreed with apparent pleasure; he not only 
assured me of his fidelity, but declared that nothing would 
gratify him more than to be able to avenge himself upon 
Bodmilcar, 

On the third day after this, having thoroughly revictualled 
the ships, we set sail with our hearts all elated at the pro- 
spect of seeing our native shores. We sighted Calpe and 
Abyla, but the wind having freshened, we were obliged to 
beat to windward to enter the strait. Next evening I 
noticed a large galley sailing in the direction opposite to 
ourselves, and tried to hail her; but as the weather did 
not permit us to get near, I made Himilco take half-a-dozen 
sailors in one of the boats and row towards her ; a circum- 
stance that struck me was the extreme readiness with which 
the new sailor volunteered to take an oar. 

The boat had not long pushed off before one of the crew 
rushed up to me with consternation written in his face, anc 
exclaimed : 

“ Captain, we have sprung a leak !” 

I lit a lamp, and in a minute was making my way down 
into the hold. Two sailors and one of the helmsmen fol- 
lowed. My heart sunk within me at what I saw. The 
water had not only got into the hold, but it was already 
knee-deep ; worst of all, it was still rising rapidly. The 
sea was rough, and the ship was labouring hard against the 
wind. Unless the evil could be remedied, another quarter 
of an hour would see us at the bottom. Almost beside 


292 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTaIN MAGO. 





myself with agitation, I caught hold of a handspike and 
plunged it wildly about in every direction; the ill-tidings 
soon ran through the ship, and there was a general rush 
towards the hold, but I drove every one back, and suffered 
nobody to remain except the three men who had first come 
down with me, and young Dionysos, who had slipped in 
unobserved, and was paddling about in the water, which 
was up to his shoulders. 

In the midst of my frantic endeavours to ascertain the 
position of the leak, my attention was arrested by voices 
above speaking hurriedly in a tone that indicated alarm, 
and I distinctly caught the names of Bodmilcar and the 
Melkarth. Almost at the sane moment the man standing 
on the ladder to hold the lamp moved on one side to 
allow by-way for some one who flew, rather than ran, 
into the hold. The light was not so dim but that I re- 
cognised Himilco, his head bare, his hair dishevelled, and 
his cutlass in his hand. Before I had time to speak to 
him a trumpet was sounding overhead, and Hannibal’s 
stcntorian voice was shouting : 

“Make ready the scorpions! Archers, to your ranks!” 

“Good gods!” I exclaimed at last, “what does this 
mean ?” 

“Soon told,” said Himilco ; “the man we took on board 
was Bodmilcar’s agent, bent on mischief. I have managed 
to get my boat back, but the J/c/karth and her galleys 
will be upon us in a moment.” 

He had hardly time to finish speaking, when the com- 
motion above made it manifest that the struggle was 
already beginning. 

“Then we are lost,” I cried, in absolute despair at our 
twofold peril: “that infernal rascal has scuttled the ship.” 

Himilco groaned aloud in dismay. 

A. shrill cry of distress at this very moment rose from 
Dionysos, calling for help: 

“Save me! save me! [am ina hole; I am sinking !” 

The lad’s head had already disappeared, when Himilco, 








ee 


To face page 293. 





LEAK. 





EHE 


FOUND 


CHILD HAD 





THE 


NS 


SiS 








a 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 295 





sticking his cutlass into the ladder, and shouting that the 
child had found the leak, made a dive and brought him 
back half-fainting from the water, and delivered him to the 
sailors, who carried him on deck. Not a moment was lost. 
Carpenters and sailors were summoned to the task, and a 
heavy wave making the ship lurch so that the leak was 
actually seen, we put forth all our energies, and notwith- 
standing the combat that was being waged above our 
heads, succeeded—all praise to our gracious Ashtoreth !— 
in temporarily stopping the hole. 

Meanwhile the clamour of the fighting had given place 
to silence. On remounting the deck I found several dead 
bodies, and pools of blood in various places; I saw that 
the Adonibal and the Cadiros were lying alongside right 
and left, but Bodmilcar's vessels had vanished in the 
twilight. ‘ 

Hannibal and Chamai were furious at their escape, and 
could hardly find words strong enough to express their 
contempt of a cowardice that had shirked a fair fight. 
Hanno, with his bow still in his hand, avowed that 
nothing else than the gathering gloom of night had saved 
Bodmilcar; if he could have recognised him, he would 
have been a dead man. 

“When I was attacked in the boat,” said Himilco, “I 
recognised the villain who took my eye out of my head; 
and if there had not been some thousand of them 
peppering away at us all at once #5 

“How many, do you say?” asked Hannibal, with a 
smile. 

“Well, then, I am sure there were six or eight ; but 
never mind, many or few, there was one man I knew only 
too well, and while I was down there looking after that 
leak, no one knows how my heart was burning for a chance 
of getting him by the throat.” 

All this time the wind was rising, and after a while it 
blew a hurricane. There was every cause for apprchen- 
sion; the leak was stopped so insufficiently that it might 





. 


2904 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





break open again at any moment, and the waves were 
playing with our ship like a ball. 

There was no sleep that night. The men, in relays, had 
to toil with all their might at scooping out the water; and 
after that had been reduced below the level of the leakage, 
it took more than five hours to strengthen and caulk the 
fresh planking that had repaired the gap. All danger, 
however, from that source was averted. 

Daylight came, but the tempest was more violent than 
ever. Ihardly recollect so furious a wind ; the pigeons that 
I let loose were unable to withstand the hurricane, and 
fluttered back helplessly on to the deck. All control over 
the ship was lost, and there was no alternative but to 
allow her to drift we knew not whither. 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 293 





CHAPTER Xx, 


THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. 


Fok eight days did the tempest rage, when, at the end of 
that time, the wind dropped and the sky cleared, I found 
that we were quite close to the shore, and off a headland 
beyond which the coast stretched away indefinitely to the 
south. Continuing our course in that direction, we came 
in sight of a mountainous island, richly wooded and ex- 
tremely picturesque. The glowing sun and the genial 
temperature reminded us of our beloved Phoenicia; and 
so tempting was the aspect of the place, that I resolved 
to disembark, not merely as a matter of pleasure, but to 
look to the ships, which, after their strain, required some 
examination. 

We anchored in a charming bay, and were soon sur- 
rounded by canoes full of savages, of whom the first 
characteristic that I noticed was their low foreheads and 
yet elongated skulls. To my surprise, they addressed us 
in the Libyan tongue, and proved to be the true Garaman- 
tine or red Libyans. We were the first Orientals they had 
ever seen on their shores; but one of their old men stated 
that he had been to Rusadir, and had seen Phoenicians 
there. They reccived us very kindly, and told us that 
their island was one of a group that was situated to the 
west of Libya. Ignorant of navigation, they could give 
me no information about distance; and all that I could 
make out was that the coast of Libya extended far to the 
south, and was inhabited by people of the same race ag 


296 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





themselves ; and that still farther south there was a region 
where the men were like animals, and perfectly black. 

“That’s a country worth seeing; I should like to catch a 
black man,” said Bichri. 

The residents, I observed, wore bracelets, necklaces, and 
earrings, which were, I found, made of gold; and in reply 
to my inquiry whether the gold was found in the island, 
they told me that they obtained it both in nuggets and 
in dust from the Garamantines of the mainland, who col- 
lected it by means of fleeces at the mouths of their 
rivers. 

The people did not attach any great value to their gold, 
and were quite ready to barter it away very freely for 
many things we had to offer them ; for instance, for some 
glass trinkets they gave me as much gold dust as I could 
hold in the hollow of my hand, while for such things as 
knives, lance-heads, or swords, they would give an equal 
weight in gold. The delight of my people was un- 
bounded, and I had the utmost difficulty in preventing 
them from bartering away all their weapons. Hannibal 
sold his helmet, crest and all; and Jonah even parted with 
his trumpet, boasting that he could now have one of pure 
gold, with which to play before the King ; but so enchanted 
was he with the country, that if the inhabitants would have 
accepted him for their god he would have been quite ready 
to reside permanently amongst them. 

I spent a fortnight in purchasing gold and repairing the 
ships, and an interesting period we all found it. The 
fertile soil was productive of some of the finest fruits I had 
ever seen; one fruit in particular with a scaly covering was 
very delicious. The valleys were full of orange-trees of 
the growth of centuries, and the mountains were clothed 
with magnificent woods, in which beautiful little birds 
with yellow plumage were fluttering about, and singing 
exquisitely. Bichri, who did not care about purchasing 
more than just enough gold to ornament his belt and 
quiver, spent several whole days in these woods with 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 297 





Dionysos, and succeeded in catching some of the bright 
little songsters, which he secured in a cage; but his trouble 
was of little avail, as they all died upon their passage. 

As for Judge Gebal, he manifested such a keen appre- 
ciation of the charms of the scenery that we had to keep 
him tied up to prevent his running away; but the time for 
our departure necessarily arrived, and, after the repairs 
were all completed, we reluctantly bade farewell to the 
lovely archipelago, upon which I bestowed the name of 
the Fortunate Islands. 





Once more at sea, I had no difficulty in determining my 
course. All my party were cager to visit the wonderfui 
gold-countries, and Bichri persisted in saying that he 
should like to catch sight of the black men ; Himilco just 
at first protested against going in a direction where wine 
would not be forthcoming, but his objection was soon 
overruled, and he was contented with our resolution to sail 
southward. What caused us much bewilderment as we 
advanced, was, that not only did the sun rise higher over 
our heads, but the Cabiri descended lower towards the 


298 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





horizon. Himilco complained that we were sailing out of 
reach of the protection of the gods; I pondered the matter, 
but kept my thoughts to myself. 

After running some distance to the east, the coast 
resumed its southerly direction ; and then it was that the 
sun, which day by day had gradually risen higher in the 
heavens, stood vertically over our heads, and then began to 
change its position, shining at last upon my left hand 
instead of upon my right. Evening after evcning, too, 
brought into view constellations that were quite unknown 
to us; and so great was the amazement of all on board, 
that I resolved upon holding a general consultation of 
officers and pilots, and the more intelligent of the sailors, 
in order to discover a solution of the mystery. 

Hamilcar gave it as his opinion that the gods must have 
been making some alterations in the face of the heaveus ; 
Hasdrubal suggested that perhaps we had passed the 
bounds of our own world and entered upon another ; whilst 
Himilco avowed his suspicion that unless something of 
that kind had occurred, the world must be round, and we 
were on the other side of it. Absurd and outrageous 
as Himilco’s conjecture appeared to every one else, I 
confess it chimed in to a certain degree with my own 
speculations, and set me reflecting that if it were so it 
must be the sun and the stars that were standing still, and 
the world that was moving round them. But, after all, 
Himilco was much more inclined to believe in a prodigy 
than to entertain any of these fanciful theories. 

Pressed with inquiries as to what I intended to do, I 
announced my resolution of continuing my course to the 
south; if ultimately the coast should incline to the west 
(or what I presumed to be the west), I should return to the 
Fortunate Islands; but if, as I anticipated, it turned to 
the east, I should go on following it, under the expectation 
of getting to the north at last, and reaching Egypt by 
way of the Sea of Reeds. This scheme of circumnavigating 
the entire land of Libya commended itself entirely to the 


TWE ADVENTURES, OF (CAPTAIN SAGO; 29 


ie) 





judgment of my pilots, but it quite baffled the compre- 
hension of Hannibal and all the landsmen. 

When I spoke to Hannibal about arriving at Egypt, he 
looked quite aghast, and exclaimed: 

“Egypt! here are we sailing farther and farther away 
from the Straits of Gades ; and yet you talk about getting 
this way to Egypt. Impossible!” 

“Patience!” I said; “ perhaps we may find you a short 
cut even yet !” 

He shook his head dubiously ; and even Hanno observed 
that the mysteries of navigation were very abstruse, and 
that the studies which he had pursued at Sidon did not 
enable him to solve these enigmas. 

“Ah! you should have travelled more, young man,” 
said Himilco; “and you should have learned to know the 
stars.” 

“T should think this voyage is travelling enough for any 
one,” replied Hanno. 

Chamai merely remarked that he was quite sure that 
they might all rely with perfect confidence in my judg- 
ment. And thus the consultation was brought to a close. 

Many times did we approach the coast with the in- 
tention of landing ; but either it was utterly desolate, or it 
was so crowded with black men, who yelled and assumed 
such a threatening attitude, that we always postponed any 
attempt to go ashore. One night in particular, as we were 
passing under a promontory that I had named “the chariot 
of the gods,” the noises we heard seemed of so threatening 
a character that I decmed it prudent te put out a little 
further to sca; but at length our provisions began to run 
short, and there was nothing to be done but to venture on 
land. Bichri, paticnt and enduring as he ever was, com- 
plained of living on salt fish ; Jonah murmured that there 
was short allowance for oursclves, and no fruit for Gebal ; 
and Hannibal regretted that we were losing our chance of 
picking up gold. I was accordingly induced to lay to as 
soon as I found a convenient opportunity. 


300 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Our anchorage was the estuary of a river apparently as 
large as the Egyptian Nile; its banks were covered with 
thick woods; numbers of crocodiles and hippopotamuses 
were visible in the water by its shore; and great birds, 
uttering shrill and piercing cries, whirled around above our 
heads. 

For four days we wandered about without finding any 
sign of human being; we obtained, however, an abundance 
of wild fruit, and shot several buffaloes and antelopes, of 
which a great portion of the flesh was carried on board 
and salted. On returning from one of the foraging excur- 
sions, Bichri came running to me, looking utterly woe- 
begone; he was followed by Dionysos, weeping bitterly, 
and Jonah, gesticulating vehemently, and apparently as 
much agitated as himself. 

“ What's the matter, Bichri ?” I asked. 

“Gebal has gone!” he exclaimed ; “he has been carried 
off by Bodmilcar’s monkeys.” 

I burst out laughing. In his indignation he looked as if 
he could have annihilated me. 

“T am sure they were Bodmilcar’s !” he insisted ; “crea- 
tures with long tails ; they took him away; he never would 
have gone with them of his own accord.” 

Nothing I could do served to calm him ; he would not 
be pacified until I allowed him to take some men and go 
out again in search of his lost favourite; but in the evening 
they all returned worn out with fatigue, only to announce, 
as might have been expected, that their search had been 
fruitless. There was no doubt the monkey had been 
delighted to join the troop of his own tribe that was 
gambolling in the woods. Bichri was very inadequately 
consoled for his loss by bringing back a great black mon- 
ster, which, after he had wounded it, the men that were with 
him, in spite of the huge brute’s desperate defence, had 
succeeded in despatching with their pikes. It certainly 
was a most formidable-looking creature, and I subse- 
quently had it stuffed, and it may now be seen in the 





‘LOE adv aovf of 
“OML NI dAVLS ANId V GdddVNS JI 


=< a © 7 


=> SN = 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 301 





temple of Ashtoreth in Sidon. Bichri told us that after it 
had six or seven arrows in its body it snapped a pike-staff 
in two as easily as if it had been a reed ; upon which Han- 
nibal remarked that the strength that could break asunder 
a pike-handle made of oak of Bashan must be prodigious. 

We were obliged to depart without finding any vestige 
of Gebal. After sailing on for about a fortnight, our sup- 
plies again ran short, and as we were discussing what steps 
we should take in consequence, Hannibal interrupted us 
by shouting: 

“A gaoul ahead !” 

Every eye was bent in the direction to which we were 
pointed, and sure enough there was a gaoul of Pheenician 
build; but on farther scrutiny it was evident that it was 
all dismantled, and drifting at the mercy of the waves. 

“ May be a ruse of Bodmilcar’s,” suggested Himilco. 

Taking his hint, we approached very cautiously, and it 
was not until we had thoroughly satisfied ourselves that 
there was no one on board to answer our signals that we 
ventured close alongside. It was perfectly deserted. 

Gisgo said that he remembered having once abandoned 
his ship off the Pityusai Islands, and that probably this 
was a similar case; but he could not understand what 
current could have borne the gaoul to this distant shore. 

“ Never mind where she comes from,’ I answered ; “let 
us hope she may prove a godsend.” 

Hannibal and Himilco, who went on board, brought back 
the welcome intelligence that the hold was well frceighted 
with corn and wine, the whole of which we joyfully trans- 
ferred to our own vessels, leaving the empty hull again to 
the wind and waves. In the evening I caused an offering 
to be made to Ashtoreth in acknowledgment of her mani- 
fest interference on our behalf. 

Next day we hove in sight of a lofty promontory, the 
top of which was as flat as a table. A strong gale was 
springing up. 

“Never mind the wind,” cried Jonah. “ What doT care 


302 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





for the wind now? I’ve a purse full of gold; plenty tc 
to eat; plenty to drink; and a red tunic before long 
Tempests be hanged! Long live the King!” 

The gale for some days increased in violence, and all 
attempts at steering were quite useless. When, after eight 
days, the sea became calmer, I could make out that the 
land was lying to our left. This was according to my 
prognostications, and I followed the coast to the north 
with renewed confidence, day by day becoming more and 
more convinced that the sun was again rising in the 
heavens ; and one lovely night, about a fortnight after- 
wards, Himilco suddenly seized my arm, and making 
me point to the northern horizon, exclaimed in a voice 
trembling with excitement : 

“ See, the Cabiri !” 

“Yes ; true enough; there are the Cabiri,” I answered, 
as full of delight as he was himself. “We have accom- 
plished an unheard-of thing,’ I added; “we have circum- 
navigated Libya.” 

“ And to-morrow,” he said, “ we shall have the sun once 
more on our right; we are on our way to the Sea of 
Reeds.” 

“ Aye, to the Sea of Reeds! and to Sidon, our own 
Sidon! Sidon the glorious, Sidon the incomparable !” 

There was none to witness; the crew were sleeping in 
their berths; and in the fervour of our enthusiasm we 
threw ourselves into each other’s arms. 

A month later, as we were taking in fresh water at the 
mouth of a river, we fell in with some black men, who bore 
a marked resemblance to the Ethiopians, who are often 
seen in I:eypt. One of them could speak a little Egyptian ; 
he told me he had learnt it in Ethiopia, which is subject to 
Pharaoh. His own country, he stated, was six months’ 
journey below the southernmost limit of IXthiopia ; but he 
could give no information whatever about its distance by 
sea. These negroes called themselves Kouch, and having 
never seen any Phoenicians, took us for Egyptians; but as 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 304 





soon as we explained that so far from being subjects of 
Pharaoh we were enemies of the Misraim, they welcomed 
us as friends, and treated us with the utmost cordiality. 
They had evidently a great abhorrence of the Egyptians 
on account of the cruel ravages that had been committed 
on their northern boundaries. 

For the next three months we never found a favourable 
wind to speed us on our way. We employed our time 
in transacting business with the Kouch, and in making 
hunting-expeditions into the interior of the country. In 
the way of exchanges we procured gold, ivory, pearls, and 
skins ; and an immense success attended our hunting- 
excursions in a region that was found to abound in 
elephants, rhinoceros, and giraffes, as well as in smaller 
game. There was not one of us who had not some trophy 
of our good fortune or our skill to exhibit. Bichri killed a 
lion, with the skin of which he made himself a mantle, and 
even little Dionysos brought down a panther. 

At length the opportunity for which we had watched so 
eagerly arrived, and we set sail once more. Ten days 
after our departure, while a stiffish breeze was blowing 
from the north-east, I noticed not very far ahead of us 
a large Phoenician gaoul, which appeared to have sus- 
tained some damage, and to be drifting along under the 
action of the wind. In answer to my signals, she gave me 
to understand that she had lost some oars and her yard- 
arm, and that she was in need of help. Always anxious 
to render assistance to a vessel in distress, but yet fearful 
of treachery I immediately ordered out my men, but 
meanwhile instructed Hannibal to have the catapults in 
readiness; and thus prepared, the Ashtoreth approached 
the gaoul on one side, and the Adoxiba/ on the other, the 
Cabis os following in the rear. 

There was no need for any apprehension on my part. 
As soon as we were fairly within view of each other, the 
captain, standing on the stern, raised his arms and shouted : 

“ By Baal Chamaim! it’s Mago!” 


304 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 


“By Ashtoreth and all that’s holy !” I exclaimed ; “ it is 
my cousin Ethbaal!” 

The recognition was a mutual pleasure ; our ships were 
soon alongside, and we were grasping each other’s hands. 

“ How rejoiced I am to see you, Mago!” he repeated 
over and over again; “Phoenicia has given you up in 
despair; every one mourned you as lost. By Ashtoreth! 
you must have been saved by a miracle!” 

And he put his hands upon my shoulders and long and 
keenly scrutinised my face. 

“Tell me two things,” I said; “where am I? and what 
has brought you here ?” 

Ethbaal seemed full of surprise ; but said: 

“Come, come; you are laughing at me. You must know 
well enough where you are.” 

I assured him that I was in earnest in what I said, and 
repeated my assertion that I was by no means aware of 
where I was; and when Himilco informed him that we had 
come from a place where the Cabiri could not be seen at 
all, and where the sun shone on the wrong side of us, he 
looked as if he thought we had taken leave of our senses. 
Nor did he appear to understand much better when 
Himilco went on to expatiate upon having once drunk fish- 
oil, and having had no wine for many months together. 

“Mysterious!” muttered Ethbaal to himself; “here is 
Mago, close to the entrance of the Sea of Reeds, only 
six days’ voyage from Ophir, and yet he comes from the 
south, after sailing four years ago westward to Tarshish! 
Strange !” 

He pondered awhile, and then addressed himself to me 

“Ves: you arevclose to. tiie; Sea-ot reeds 

I uttered an exclamation of delight, and turning to my 
people cried triumphantly : 

“Was I not right? Did I not tell you that we were 
on our way to Egypt? Lucky we did not not turn back 
from the Fortunate Islands : 

Ethbaal appeared to be confirmed in his suspicion that ] 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 305 





must be mad, and declared his total ignorance of the 
Fortunate Islands: 

“T have never heard of them!” 

“No, nor yet of the Tin Islands ; nor yet of Prydhayn ; 
nor yet of the river of the Suomi; nor yet of the chariot 
of the gods,” exclaimed Himilco. ‘Compared with us you 
are mere coasters, loafing about in cockle-shells.” 

Genuine Sidonian as he was, my cousin could not brook 
any insinuation against his seamanship, and colouring 
deeply at the slight which he conceived was offered to him, 
he said in a tone of anger: 

“Out upon your insolence! do you call a man a coaster 
who has made the voyage to Ophir ? do you call my gaoul 
a cockle-shell ? Are you mad, or are you drunk, you one- 
eyed fool ?” 

Himilco, recalled to a sense of propriety, changed his 
banter into cajolery : 

“Now then, my dear fellow, you can do a great deal 
better than bully me. Haven't you a little wine on board ? 
It would be a great boon to give us a skin; we haven't 
tasted a drop this two months.” 

I interceded with Ethbaal, asking him to overlook what 
might seem to be rudeness on the part of Himilco, and 
assured him that our adventures had been so extraordinary 
that he must really pardon a little bragging. He not only 
took my mediation in a good spirit, but sent for a goat- 
skin of wine, which he himself handed to Himilco, in token 
of forgiveness. Saying that he should make an offering 
with it to the Cabiri, the pilot emptied so large a share of 
the contents down his throat that his companions began 
to wonder when his draught was coming to an end, and 
almost despaired of the wine lasting out till it should come 
to their turn to partake of it. ; 

“Glorious wine! wine of Arvad, Hannibal,” he said, 
smacking his lips as he removed the goatskin from his 
mouth, and passed it to the rest. 

x 


306 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 


Gisgo and Hannibal clutched at the bottle together. 

“Nay, nay, my friends,” cried Ethbaal; “do not be 
fighting for the wine. I have plenty more. My cargo is 
all wine which I am carrying to Ophir.” 

“Could you not take me with you?” asked Himilco, 
eagerly ; “ my services are quite ut your disposal.” 





CHAPTER XXL 
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA, 


AS soon as the wind dropped, we submitted ourselves te 
Ethbaal’s instructions as to the direction in which we 
ought to steer, and taking his gaoul into tow, we pro- 
ceeded on our course to Ophir. 

When evening came we found that by Ethbaal’s orders 
a true Phoenician banquet had been prepared on the stern 
of the Ashtoreth: cheese, olives, figs, raisins, and a double 
allowance of wine were served out to the men; and we 
ourselves took our seats upon brilliant carpets that had 
replaced the worn-out rags with which we had been so 
long familiar, and for the first time for months, nay, years, 
enjoyed the viands of Tyre and Sidon, and quaffed the 
wines of Byblos and Arvad. 

Our spirits rose to the occasion, and I should hesitate 
to say how many times I filled and re-filled my wine-cup 
before I began to recount the adventures which Ethhaal 
was anxious to hear. 

My story lasted far on into the night. 

When I had finished, Ethbaal, who had never flagged 
for one moment in his attention, raised his hands to the 
stars in the heavens above, and swore by all the gods that 
my chronicle ought to be registered in lettérs of gold. 
He went on to tell me that the cargo I had sent from 
Gades and all my messages had been duly received at 
Tyre; that everyone had come to the conclusion we must 
all have been drowned in the ocean ; and that nothing had 


308 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





been heard about Bodmilcar, who, it was taken for granted, 
had been punished for his treachery by the direct visitation 
of the gods. 

I offered Ethbaal a present of some very fine pearls ; he 
at first refused to take any acknowledgment at all of his 
attention to us, but I induced him ultimately to accept the 
sift. The damages to his gaoul were only to the rigging, 
and did not affect the hull; and as we had taken it into 
tow, there was nothing to cause us any anxiety, or to 
prevent us from retiring to rest. 

Next morning, in the course of conversation with Ethbaal, 
Himilco asked : 

“Have you had any fighting, captain, since you have 
been out ?” 

“Fighting ? no, why ?” he replied. 

“ Because if you continue in our company you will soon 
find that fighting is our destiny. We are always fighting ; 
if we are not fighting men,—and that we are doing pretty 
frequently,—we are fighting the beasts of the earth ; and if 
we are not fighting beasts, we are fighting against wind 
and waves. Go where we will we attract the fightings, 
just like a headland attracts the storms. Fighting is 
our luck ; so I just warn you, you had better be on the 
look-out.” 

Ethbaal laughed. He said he hoped that we had come 
to the end of our adventures in that way, and that we 
should have a prosperous voyage to Ophir; then turning 
to me, he asked what I expected to procure at Ophir, as I 
had already a large supply of gold, which was the com- 
modity ordinarily obtained there. 

I reminded him that I had a much larger quantity of 
amber than I really wanted, and that in return for a por- 
tion of it I intended to lay in a stock of sandal-wood and 
spices, peacocks and apes, and anything else that the 
country could offer. 

The Arabian coast was rocky, but we sailed along it 
without dilhculty for six days, at the end of which we 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 309 


~~ ——— 





arrived at Havilah, the principal city of the kingdom of 
Ophir and Sheba. Unlike the Phcenician seaports, it has 
no quays, fortresses, nor arscnals, but it is well-sheltered, 
and forms a commodious trade-harbour; the town rises 
like an amphitheatre upon the surrounding heights, and 
the white terraces, with their brown and red domes, broken 
by clusters of palm-trees, stand out in pleasing contrast to 
the deep-blue sky, while the domes of the temples are of 
vilded bronze, and glitter with dazzling brightness in the 
sunlight. Although the people are indifferent seamen, yet 
it is to the sea that they owe their prosperity, their city 
forming the mart between our own country and the distant 
Indices. 

The Queen herself takes a keen interest in all matters 
connected with navigation, and her palace is situated close 
to the sea-shore. It is built of cedar, and ornamented with 
trellis-work and open balconies; the walls are all adorned 
with paintings, inlaid with precious stones, or hung with 
curtains of variegated stuffs. 

I was very anxious to secure the Queen’s favour, and to 
make her an offering worthy of her acceptance. With 
this object, I placed some of my finest pieces of amber in 
a casket made of Tarshish silver, and carrying my gift 
in my hand, I presented myself with Ethbaal and most of 
my officers at the entrance of the palace, and sounded the 
great drum by which it is the custom to demand admit- 
tance to the royal presence. 

Ordinarily the Qucen occupies a tapestried tent that 
overlooks the sea; she had consequently been aware of 
our entrance into the harbour, and when we presented our- 
selves at the gateway of the palace she gave immediate 
orders that we should be conducted before her. We were 
taken to her pavilion across a garden of surpassing beauty. 
There were countless plants, wonderful alike in their blos- 
soms and their foliage, grouped in exquisite order around 
sparkling fountains ; there were sumptuous tents of every 
hue pitched amongst the rare and graccful trees, to the 


310 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





boughs of which monkeys were attached by golden 
chains ; Indian birds with gayest plumage fluttered over- 
head ; and peacocks, displaying their gorgeous tails, were 
strutting along the avenues. Every thing we saw seemed 
worthy of the statcliest empire in tl.e world. 

We prostrated ourselves before the Queen, who at once 
bade us rise. She was young and very fascinating ; and 
although she was surrounded by ladies in waiting and 
maids of honour, she was conspicuous among them all for 
grace and beauty. Her attire, redolent of perfume, was 
alike sumptuous and elegant ; in her hair and round her 
neck were jewels valuable enough not only to equip a 
fleet, but to maintain it as well; a long robe, embroidered 
in gold with figures of men, beasts, and birds, was thrown 
over her, but opened to display the richness of the dress 
below; her sleeves were loose to the elbows, and on 
her wrists were bracelets that must have been all but 
priceless. 

We were dazzled into silence as we first gazed upon 
her beauty and magnificence; but Hanno almost imme- 
diately advanced, and ventured to recite some verses of 
an Arab ode: 


‘¢ Fairer than moons are thy beaming eyes, 
Nay, they are radiant suns : 
Forth from the bow of thine arched brow 
Shoot the arrows that pierce man’s heart : 
Be it thy justice prevails far and wide, 
The universe yields to thy charms. 
What are thy favours? Say I not true? 
Fetters they are that bind the soul ; 
What are thy fingers? What do I kiss? 
Keys of a heavenly joy.” 


The language spoken in Ophir is very similar to our 
own, and the Queen, who understands Pheenician well, 
expressed herself as being highly gratified at Hanno’s 
courtier-like address. She then deigned to examine the 
presents I had brought, and requested me to give her a 
brief outline of my travels and adventures; then rising 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 311 





from her seat, and bidding us follow her, she went out, 
acompanied by her retinue, into the garden, and moving 
with all the grace and dignity of a goddess, herself con- 
ducted us to every point of interest in her paradise. Before 
we took leave of her she desired me to visit her again on 
the eve of our departure, that I might receive some instruc- 
tions that she wished to give me. 





The same evening the munificent lady sent us a store 
of provisions for our ships, and various presents for our- 
selves, amongst which I should especially note several 
embroidered robes for the women, and a scarlet tunic, a 
hyacinth-coloured girdle, and a gold-embroidered shoulder- 
belt for Hanno. 

We remained a week at Havilah, making exchanges, 
and inspecting all that was worth seeing in the place. 
Representatives of nearly every nation seemed to be cons 
eregated in the town; men from India and Taprobane, 
from Ethiopia, and the mouth of the Euphrates. The 
people of Sheba themselves bear a strong resemblance to 
the Jews, Phoenicians, and Arabians, the p:incipal differ- 
ence being that they are of smaller stature and darker 


312 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





complexion. The queen, however, is remarkably fair 
The gold and the tin that we procured here, as well as 
the peacocks, tortoise-shell, and ivory, are ali imported 
from India; but the spices, stuffs, and vases of opaque 
glass, are brought through India from a still more distant 
land, to which hitherto no one has ever sailed, and which 
could not be reached in less than a two years’ voyage. 

On the day of my departure I presented myself again 
before the Queen. 




















“T have to inform you, Captain Mago,” she said, “that 
the old King David who sent you to Tarshish died a year 
and a half ago, and has been succeeded by his son 
Solomon, of whose power, but especially of whose wisdom, 
I hear a wonderful report. His dominions extend as far 
as the Gulf of Elam on the Sea of Reeds, where he holds 
the port of Ezion-Geber. Iam eager to enter into a treaty 
with him, and I commission you, on my behalf, to convey 
to this august monarch a present that shall be worthy of 
himself and me.” 

“Your will, O Queen, is my law,” I replied, as I made 
my obeisance. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 313 





“But first of all, captain,” she continued, “tell me 
whether you and your companions in toil are too worn out 
with the fatigues that you have already endured to under- 
take another voyage in my service. Information has 
reached me that the King of Babylon, Assur, and Accad 
is on his way, with a powerful army, to the mouth of the 
lSuphrates to put down an insurrection. No one so well as 
yourself can fulfil what I desire. I want you, if you will, 
to convey him some messages from me, and to be the 
bearer of presents that I shall send.” 

I did not hesitate to comply ; not only did I express 
my willingness to go, but assured her that the voyage 
would be neither difficult nor long. 

“Go then, brave mariner,’ said the Queen, with a 
beaming smile, “and I shall not fail to recompense you 
royally.” 

I prostrated myself once again before her, and with- 
drew. 

An hour later I haa taken leave of Ethbaal, who was 
returning to Sidon by way of Ezion-Geber and the canal 
of Pharaoh, and, with all my people, I was embarking for 
yet another voyage. 


314 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 





CHAPTER XXII. 
BELESYS FINDS BICHRI SOMEWHAT HEAVY, 


IT did not take us much more than a month to sail to the 
mouth of the Euphrates, although during the time we 
made one sojourn with the Arabians, and another with the 
fish-eating Gedrosians on the opposite coast. 

On receiving the announcement from me of the aged 
King David’s death, Chamai and his fellow-countrymen 
observed a week’s mourning, fasted, rent their clothes, 
and combed neither their hair nor their beards; but at 
the end of the week they made plentiful ablutions, and 
held a festival in honour of Solomon, the King’s son and 
successor. 

It was early in the morning that we reached the river- 
mouth, and having entered it, proceeded till we came to a 
little town dedicated to the god Oannes. There is no 
stone found in the country, and the place, like all the 
other towns on the Euphrates, is built entirely of bricks, 
the fortifications being circular walls constructed of bricks, 
baked and unbaked, cemented with layers of bitumen. On 
the right were the remains of vast forests, which, according 
to the statements of the learned, were, three hundred 
years ago, the haunts of the elephant. On the other side, 
extending as far as the eye could reach, was a long stretch 
of meadow-lands and corn-fields. Looking up the river, 
we could count some hundreds of tents pitched among the 
crops or sheltered by the forest, the fires of the encamp- 
ment sending up columns of smoke, and groups of horses 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 315 





being picketed everywhere amongst them A few Loats 
and two large ships of Phoenician build were moored to 
the shore ; but what struck us most of all was the swarms 
of soldiers, many of them with swords drawn and lance in 
hand, who were posted everywhere alike on the river-bank, 
in the pastures, among the crops, and along the skirts of 
the forest. 

“ The army of the Assyrians!” cried Himilco. 

“The gods be praised!” said Hannibal, in an ecstasy of 
delight ; “now shall I sct eyes upon something like an 
army once again. See, how admirable their position! how 
skilful their groupings! I must make the acquaintance of 
their officers.” 

He was stopped short in his panegyric by the shouts of 
a troop of horsemen who were galloping towards us, and 
ordering us, in Chaldean, to bring our ships immediately 
to a stand-still, and to tell them who we were’ From the 
stern of my ship I answered the officer in command as 
courteously as I could, and he, in reply, ordered me to 
remain where I was whilst he reported my statement to 
his superior. In about a quarter of an hour he returned 
from the camp whither he had gone, and brought with 
him a troop of cavalry, at the head of which rode a burly 
fellow armed in a complete suit of mail, and carrying a 
lance. 

Hannibal again began to praise the order and accoutre- 
ments of the troop and their leader to Chamai, who, while 
admitting the superiority of Assyrian cavalry, contended 
that the infantry of Judah was second to none; but before 
they had finished their military discussion, the Chaldean 
had halted just opposite our ships, and was calling out 
that our principal officers must come ashore and state our 
demands in the presence of Belesys, the King’s commander- 
in-chief. 

Hanno knew enough of Chaldean to remember that the 
word “belesys” in that language signified “terrible,” and 
muttered that it was a formidable name for a man to have. 


316 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Taking the Queen of Sheba’s letters, and followed by 
eight sailors carrying her presents to the King, and es- 
corted by my own officers, I went on shore. The Chaldean 
was tall and stout; he had a wide face, with a strong jaw 
and great deep-set eyes; his beard was thick and frizzled 
like the rest of his company, and his manners were ex- 
tremely coarse and insolent. 

“Come, now, you sailor fellows, stir yourselves a little 
briskly, will you?” he cried ; “I’m not fond of walking my 
horse.” 

He conducted us first of all through an enclosure filled, 
with war-chariots, and then past an encampment of in- 
fantry, composed of Mesopotamians armed with maces 
and spears, and in physiognomy bearing a striking likeness 
to the people of Judea. A little removed from us was 
a regiment of Medes, the representatives of a nation re- 
cently subjugated, but whose ancestors had given Nineveh 
her line of kings. They were thickset, and had round 
heads, scanty beards, and obliquely-set eyes. Their fierce 
expression of countenance attracted our notice, and armed 
with their swords and short, strong bows, they must be 
very formidable in battle. As we passed, we were near 
enough to hear that they were making coarse jokes upon 
us in their own tongue. A noisy band of half-naked Arabs 
next caught our attention. These, with their camels, 
always form part of the contingent of the King of Assyria, 
and mingling with them I recognised some Midianite 
slave-dealers and some Phcenician merchants, who act as 
purveyors to the army, but make their chief profits by 
purchasing slaves and plunder from the soldiers. 

We proceeded to the cavalry encampment, and when we 
were about in the middle of it, we were ordered to halt. 
We found ourselves in front of a large circular tent made 
of rich hangings, the entrance of which was guarded 
by Kardook infantry carrying maces, and equipped with 
breastplates, grcaves, crested helmets, and round shields 
This was the tent of Belesys, the terrible, 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 317 





“Enter,” said the officer who had been conducting us, 
adding in a jeering tone: “I hope the general will give 
you a handsome reception ; perhaps he will put on a good 
temper for the occasion.” 

He burst into a roar of laughter and galloped off. 

“Stop!” cried Chamai, wrathfully; “is that the way 
you speak to a Phoenician captain ?” 

But his words were wasted. The Chaldean was out of 
hearing, far away. 

The Kardook guards scrutinised us narrowly, and con- 
sulted each other in an undertone. They appeared 
especially attracted by the dress of Hanno, who had 
arrayed himself in the costly presents of the Queen of 
Sheba. Turning to him, one of them said: 

“ Are you captain ?” 

“No,” replied Hanno, pointing to me; “there is our 
captain.” 

The Kardooks stared in astonishment. 

I was dressed in my ordinary naval attire; but as the 
Assyrians always associate dignity of place with costliness 
of apparel, they could only account for my appearance by 
conjecturing that I was in disguise. 

“You wish to see Belesys ?” said the guard ; and having 
entered the tent, returned again immediately with per- 
mission for us to be admitted. 

The Assyrian commander-in-chief was at the farther ex- 
tremity of the tent, surrounded by a number of officers and 
slaves, and was reclining, or rather lolling, upon a luxurious 
couch; he was superbly dressed, but wore no armour. 
Armed men stood on both sides of him, and two cup- 
bearers were in attendance holding goblets of wine, of 
which, however, he was in no need, as he was already very 
drunk. 

With the exception of Bichri, we all made a low bow on 
entering the tert; but the young archer, who was not 
always in a conciliating mood, did not feel disposed on 
this occasion to exhibit any sign of courtcsy. 


318 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Pushing aside one of the cup-bearers who was obstructing 
his view, Belesys stared straight at us. He was a tall man, 
with a great frizzled beard, thick lips, and a heavy jaw, 
and his hair was glossy with perfumed ointment. A heavy 
mace which lay by his side was surmounted by the figure 
of a bull’s head. As he gazed at us, he shook his head, 
screwed up his eyes, and, indeed, distorted all his features ; 
while his attendants, as if to flatter him by imitation, did 
precisely the same. We waited some time for him to 
speak, and at last, in a tone that quite confirmed our 
suspicion that he was intoxicated, he roared out: 

“You see those two big fellows? and you see that 
youngster with the bow? Take them, and give them five- 
and-twenty lashes apiece ; and then put them amongst my 
archers. I don’t dislike the look of them.” 

Utterly astounded, I held my tongue. Taking no notice 
of Hanno’s clenched fist and gleaming eye, he went on, 
hiccupping as he spoke: 

“That young man with the gold shoulder-belt, strip him 
to the skin, and pack him off to the slaves. I don’t care 
for the other old scarecrows; do as you like with them; 
there’s an ugly one-eyed rascal among them; hang him or 
behead him as you please, the sooner the better.” 

“What?” shriecked Himilco, in ungovernable rage; 
“what? do you call me a one-eyed rascal? and our 
captain, a Phoenician admiral, do you call him a scare- 
crow? By all the gods !”—— 

Belesys burst into a roar of laughter, repeated his orders 
that we should be put under arrest, and taking a cup from 
the nearest cup-bearer, drained it at a gulp and ff ing it 
back into the man’s face. 

“ Handcuff them, I say!” he bawled again. 

Several of his men approached to execute his bidding, 
but I shook off the hands of the Chaldean who ventured 
near me; Hannibal floored the-man who was about to 
assail him, by planting his fist heavily in the fellow’s eyes 
after the Cymri fashion in Prydhayn; Chamai, in genuine 


fHE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 519 





Celtic style, knocked down another by butting at him with 
his head in the middle of the stomach; but Bichri, the 
most agile of us all, took a much more determined 
measure. Bounding like a cat upon the couch, he fixed 
his knee firmly upon the general’s breast, and with one 
hand caught hold of his beard, while with the other he held 
the point of his knife close enough to his throat to be 
felt. 

“Capital, Bichri! well done!” shouted Hannibal, draw- 
ing his sword. 

“Keep your hold, Bichri, and long live the King!” cried 
Chamai, following Hannibal’s example. 

Hanno and myself, resolved to act on the defensive, 
also drew our swords; Himilco tripped up another of the 
Chaldeans by one of those adroit turns of the hand with 
which a sailor knows so well how to take a landsman by 
surprise ; and all my own sailors, seeing the aspect of 
affairs, in a moment set down their packages and un- 
sheathed their cutlasses. 

“Shall I cut his throat ?” asked Bichri, coolly, appealing 
to me. 

“No; wait a little,” I answered; “let me talk to him a 
bit first.” 

Approaching near enough for him to hear me distinctly, 
I said : 

“Belesys, you have only to cry out or make the least 
resistance, and in one instant that knife severs your head 
from your body.” 

“ Soldiers,” I continued, turning myself to his guard, 
“the moment you call for assistance or lift up your hands 
to attack us, that moment, mark me, your general is a dead 
man.” 

The proximity of Bichri’s knife to the general’s gullet 
seemed to have a sobering influence upon him, and in 
a voice very much subdued, he implored his soldiers and 
slaves to keep perfectly quiet, and at his wish they retreated 
to the sides of the tent. 


320 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Bichri began to whistle one of his Benjamite airs, and 
deliberately brought up his other knee on to the general’s 
chest. 

“You are stifling me, young man; let me breathe, let me 
breathe.” 

“O nonsense, I know better than that,” replied Bichri, 
without stirring an inch; “I am a very light weight.” 

“Let me go,” gasped Belesys. “Believe me, I was only 
joking ; let me free, and I will recompense you liberally.” 

“As to letting you free, that’s not my concern; that 
depends upon Captain Mago; no one but the captain gives 
orders ; you should sue to him.” 

At a hint from me that he should allow the Assyrian 
room to breathe, Bichri removed his feet to the ground, 
but without relaxing his hold upon his beard or lifting the 
knife from his throat. Belesys was breathing heavily ; 
his face was pale; his forehead moist with a cold sweat ; 
there was no doubt about his being sober now; and he 
piteously asked for our captain to speak to him. Without 
waiting for me, Himilco began to jeer him. 

“Ah! you would like to see the old scarecrow, would 
you? and here am I, too, the one-eyed rascal ; it is a long 
way to come, all round Libya, to cut your throat, but it is 
quite worth the trouble if it teaches you that you shouldn’t 
get drunk all by yourself.” 

And snatching the goblet from one of the cup-bearers 
he drained it off, and pitched the empty cup at the nose of 
the general. 

“Gently,” I said, and laid my hand upon the irascible 
pilot. “Belesys is mistaken altogether ; he did not under- 
stand that we were conveying presents to his King.” 

The Assyrian gave so violent a start that his neck was 
actually grazed by Bichri’s knife. He was beginning to 
bawl out something about his illustrious sovereign [e- 
lochus II., when I admonished him that he had better 
not speak so loud, a warning that Bichri enforced by 
tightening his grasp upon his throat. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 321 





“T was but jesting ; you should take a joke,” he gasped 
“Only tell your young man to loose his hold upon my 
throat, and I swear by the almighty Nisroch, I will not 
hurt a hair of your heads. Can you not trust me now ?” 

“Not quite,” I answered, smiling. 

It was now my turn to assume the tone of irony, and 
with mock reverence I turned to him and said: 

“ And now, most valiant Belesys, servant of the mighty 
Belochus, will you condescend to do me the favour of 
visiting our ships ?” 

“By all means. I am ready; I will come at once.” 

“We will take our time,” I continued. “Just attend to 
me: you must have, you know, every proper mark of 
respect ; on your way to the vessels you shall walk between 
Hannibal and Chamai; they shall show their respect by 
drawing their swords, and Bichri shall walk close behind 
you; that will be another sign of respect: and when you 
get on board you shall remain on board until I have had 
an interview with the King. On board ship, you have 
heard, it is the captain who gives orders.” 

‘I think I understand your terms,” he replied. “T am 
to go with you; if I cry out you will murder me; and 
when I am on your ship I am to be kept as a hostage.” 

“ Precisely so,” I said. 

The incorrigible Himilco renewed his jeering, and asked 
whether he could not produce a little more wine, but the 
general made no reply, and closed his eyes as if he were 
in deep thought. Bichri took his seat upon the breast of 
his prisoner, who, in spite of the indignity he was receiving, 
seemed to be so much struck with admiration for the young 
man, that he promised to make his fortune if he would 
enter his service. 

“But get up, get up, I entreat you,” he begged him, in 
an imploring tone. “I assure you that you are a great dea] 
heavier than you seem to imagine.” 

Bichri made no answer, but whistled an air, and jolted 
himself up and down upon his seat. 

Y 


322 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Himilco, meanwhile, filched a flask of wine from one of 
the cupbearers, whom he rewarded by some good hard 
knocks, and then professed that he was enjoying himself 
extremely. 

“Come now, general,” I said at length ; “ we can’t spend 
all day waiting here; we shall have some one coming in. 
Is your mind made up ?” 

He made an ambiguous movement. Bichri frowned, and 
jerked his knife. 

“Yes, I wili come,” he said, abruptly. “After all, I was 
in fault.” 

We now arranged our party as I had proposed. Assum- 
ing all the appearance of respect, Hannibal and Chamai 
placed themselves one on each side of Belesys, and Bichri, 
still whistling gently to himself, followed alone behind. I 
followed with Hanno and Himilco, and the sailors, taking 
up their packares, brought up the rear. 

As we passed along the ranks, the soldiers all prostrated 
themselves in honour of their general, and I could scarcely 
suppress a smile at their ignorance of the true state of 
things. Belesys did not utter a word or make a sign, and 
in half an hour’s time he was on board the Ashtoreth, wit- 
nessing the respectful salute with which my own people 
always acknowledged my return. 

“To your posts, men!” I cried, cheerily ; “here-is the 
noble commander-in-chief of the Assyrian army ; he does 
us the honour to inspect our ships.” 

“And, he.angends,’ said Ttimilco; ‘to treat: you te: a 
double ration of wine.” 

“Long live the King of Assyria! long live his illustrious 
general!” rose in acclamation from a chorus of voices. 

Belesys, who was still rather pale, smiled uneasily, but 
with a forced hilarity professed himself ready not only 
to give my brave men the double allowance of wine, but to 
provide them with some sheep and oxen besides. Once 
again a general cheer was raised, and Hannibal made him 
a military salute. Chamai merely shrugged his shoulders 


NI 


1O YWilONOH 


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UIAHL 


“IVYANAD 

















THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 324 





and Bichri could not help confiding to Dionysos that the 
man before them was nothing but a drunken coward, who 
ruled the 50,000 men under his command by blows and 
lashes. 

“They are not Hellenes, then,” said the young Phocian, 
proudly ; “no Hellenes submit to blows !” 

Belesys bit his lip; he had overheard what was said, 
and it mortified him ; he tried to conceal his annoyance, 
and remarked to me that he had thought Phcenicians were 
too much engrossed by commerce to have any concern in 
the affairs of states. Hannibal was on the point of quoting 
the case of Adonibal, the naval suffect of Utica, as an 
instance to the contrary, when our attention was arrested 
by the transit of a section of the Assyrian army from one 
bank of the river to the other. The water was covered 
with boats and with large rafts, on which were placed all 
the war-chariots, and at the stern of every one of them was 
a group of men holding the heads of the horses that were 
swimming behind. The passage of the infantry was made 
on inflated goatskins. The utmost confusion prevailed ; 
several poor fellows were drowned, but that seemed a 
matter of utter indifference to the officers that stood upon 
the bank lashing the men with whips to make them 
quicken their movements. At one place we observed that 
a large bevy of prisoners was being conducted before an 
official who was seated on a kind of open air tribunal, sur- 
rounded by guards. Some town had evidently been lately 
captured. All the gods, and a quantity of booty, were 
first laid at the officer’s feet, and then the prisoners—men, 
women, and children—were brought before him. They were 
a wretched, dejected set, many of the men fettered with 
heavy bronze chains, and nearly all with their hands bound 
behind their backs, the whole of them being compelled 
to prostrate themselves in turn before the officer, who placed 
his foot upon their necks. In a few cases a respite was 
granted and life was spared; but as a general rule the 
captives were forthwith hanged or beheaded in the pre- 


324 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





sence of their fellow-sufferers. I observed that out of the 
number of miserable objects, four were selected and sent 
off to be tied to stakes that were driven into the ground 
on an adjacent eminence. 

It was truly a heartrending spectacle. Chamai and 
Hannibal had seen something of the kind before in the 
course of the warfare in their own land; but to Aminocles 
and his countrymen, with their Hellenic ideal of liberty, 
the sight was intolerably shocking, and they were loud in 
their asseverations that they would die before they would 
incur the risk of any such utter degradation. 

While we were looking on at this humiliating exhibition, 
a messenger arrived from the King to ascertain the object 
of my coming. I stated it as briefly as possible, and in 
another hour the man came again to summon us into the 
presence of Belochus. I took no one with me except 
Hanno, and the sailors to carry the Queen’s gifts. As we 
walked along Hanno was silent, evidently preparing some 
graceful compliment ; but his painstaking in this way was 
of no avail, as we were only permitted to view the splen- 
dour of the Assyrian sovereign from a distance. At about 
a hundred paces from the throne we were commanded to 
halt, and prostrate ourselves to the ground. 

Belochus II. was seated beneath a group of trees, sur- 
rounded so closely by guards, cupbearers, attendants with 
fans and parasols, and slaves with fly-whisks, that for a 
long time I could see nothing of him except his tiara, 
which was very dazzling, his robes, which were very elabo- 
rate, and his unshod feet sparkling with gems. But at 
last the mass of gorgeous pomp seemed to open, and 
I could plainly distinguish the majestic countenance of 
the King, encircled with long hair, and conspicuous with a 
thick frizzled beard. 

An avenue of soldiers was formed; some officers were 
sent to receive whatever documents and presents we 
had brought; we were bidden a second time to prostrate 
ourselves to the earth, and were then escorted back to our 

















DO HALT: 


MMANDE 


EV AVERES ECO 


Ww 


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THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO, 325 
ships. I found Belesys very impatient to be released from 
his imprisonment, and he looked much chagrined when I 
told him that it was necessary for me to detain him 
a while longer as a hostage for my own safety. 

In about an hour afterwards some letters, enclosed in a 
casket of gold, arrived from King Belochus for the Queen 
of Sheba ; the present for the Queen was accompanied by 
a meagre gift of provisions and stuffs for myself and my 
people. 

My mission was now accomplished, and I prepared again 
to set sail. 








“You may go,” I said to my prisoner; “Iet us part 
friends.” 

Belesys gave a sigh of relief. 

“T am glad you are a man of your word,” he said. 

I laughed heartily. 

“Did you suppose I should keep you? What good 
could you do me ?” 

“Revenge is sweet,” he answered. “1 feared you would 
not Iet my injustice go unpunished.” 

“Ah, you mean that would have been your course.” 


326 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





Belesys smiled. 

“The hand that cannot be cut off must be caressed,” he 
said. 

I took good care that before he left he should see the 
scorpions filled with missiles and put ready for action, and 
then I dismissed him with the most punctilious observance 
of outward respect. 

Before quitting the ship he made another attempt to 
induce Bichri to join his service, an honour which was 
coolly and firmly declined. 





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“SUMIMLOS NVAGTVHD AHL HLIM NOILVSYAANOD GALVWINV NI OSSID GNV OOTINTH 


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Mahe Ay 
‘ bee 





THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 329 





CHAPTER X11. 
WE SETTLE OUR ACCOUNTS WITH BODMILCAR. 


IT was quite late inthe evening before we reached the bar 
of the river, and as I was fearful of crossing it in the dark, 
I gave orders to lay to for the night. A small Chaldean 
camp was within sight, but I took every precaution to 
guard against any act of treachery on the part of Belesys. 

A number of booths made of branches of trees had been 
erected on the shore, and some Pheenician dealers were 
purchasing plunder from the soldiers, and supplying them 
with wine in return. Himilco, Gisgo, and several others 
expressed a great wish to go ashore, and although I knew 
that they would only be drinking and bragging of their 
adventures, I could not find it in my heart to refuse them. 
1 only stipulated that they should not go out of hearing. 
A couple of hours later, being curious to know what 
was going on in the little mart that looked so bright with 
its many lamps, I took Bichri and Jonah, and rowed to 
land. Just as I stepped on shore, I observed two galleys 
pass down stream, as if about to anchor below us; they 
were followed by a gaoul, which kept very close to the 
opposite bank; but as the river was very wide, and it was 
quite dusk, I could not distinguish its form. Knowing, 
moreover, that there was a great deal of slave-trafficking 
going on with the Assyrians, I did not give the circum- 
stance more than a casual attention. 

I found Himilco and Gisgo in animated conversation 
with the Chaldean soldiers, who evidently regarded all 


328 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 


their tales about enormous stags, stinking fish-oil, and the 
sun shining on the wrong side, as mere romances, if not 
downright lies. One of them avowed that no power on 
earth would ever make him believe that any people could 
accept Jonah for their god, a mere human being like them- 
selves. To this Bichri replied, somewhat contemptuously, 
that he could not see but that Jonah was every whit as 
good as Nisroch; and Gisgo added that he could believe 
anything after seeing how the Assyrians allowed them- 
selves to be bullied by Belochus and his general Belesys. 








Furious at the insults offered alike to his god and to his 
rulers, the Chaldean threatened to break every bone in 
Gisgo’s skin; whereupon Gisgo replied that he was quite 
ready to accept a challenge, and that he would fight it 
out in any way he pleased ; like the people of Prydhayn or 
Ar-Mor, if he chose. 

“You had better not be fighting with us,” said Himilco ; 
“we conquer wherever we go; Sicilians, Garamantines, 
Suomi, Germani, we have thrashed them all. We have 
heen to the river Illiturgis, and to the Pyrenees, and to 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 329 





tlie Chariot of the Gods, and to the Fortunate Islands, where 
we got as much gold as we liked. Everything succeeds 
with us; and the best thing you can do is to leave us 
alone.” 

The man looked aghast at the string of names which 
Himilco repeated out so volubly, and, in a half-apologetic 
tone, replied: 

“You Sidonians are wonderful travellers. I ama Kar- 
dook, and thought I had done something marvellous in 
coming here from my far-off mountains. The world is 
much larger than I reckoned.” 

Another Chaldean now put in his word, and said that 
though he had not been to Tarshish, he had just seen a 
man of Tarshish. 

“Just seen one! where ?” asked Himilco. 

“In the royal camp. He was along with the Phcenician 
captain who has taken service under King Belochus.” 

A thrill ran through me. In an instant I recollected 
the gaoul and the two galleys, and the truth flashed upon 
my mind. 

“His name?” I cried. “Tell me his name, and I will 
give you a shekel.” 

“ Make it two, and I will tell you.” 

I threw him the money, which he picked up and put in 
his purse. He was walking off, saying that he did not sce 
why he need tell me the captain’s name now that he 
was already paid. In my rage at the cool effrontery 
of the rascal I was about to knock him down, when one of 
the Phoenician dealers interposed : 

“Never mind that fellow’s nonsense, I will tell you what 
you want. The captain's name is Bodmilcar; he is a 
Tyran,’ 

The very sound of the name was enough. My men 
caught it, and in an instant we were all on our way back 
to the ships. Once on board, I held a consultation with 
the officers, and put them in possession of the fact that 
Bodmilcar was lying in wait a few cables’ length below us; 


330 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





that he was in connection with the army ; and that it was 
extremely likely that Belesys would attack us in the rear. 
How melancholy would it be, I urged, if our enterprise, 
hitherto so successful, should be marred by our hateful 
foe at last! 

Animated by a general enthusiasm, my people declared 
that not a moment should be lost, the hour for action was 
come, and the attack must be made at once. 

Chamai and Hanno began to contend for the right to 
kill Bodmilcar. 

“Let me only get within reach of him!” cried Chamai. 

“No, no,” said Hanno, flushing with excitement ; “he is 
my rival, and by my hand must he fall.” 

“Don’t be simpletons, young men!” I interposed ; “ there 
is something better than wrangling for you to do now. 
Look to your duties. We will make for the sea.” 

Using every possible caution, we proceeded towards the 
river-mouth. The Ashtoreth took the middle of the channel, 
with the Adonzba/ on her right, and the Cadzros on her left. 
Every light had been extinguished, and it was with throb- 
bing pulses that the men on board stood, ready armed, 
peering out into the darkness. Bichri had spread out his 
arrows within reach upon the deck, and was crouching 
down, his bow full strung; he was between Dionysos and 
Jonah. The trumpeter was armed with a huge hatchet in 
his girdle, and the little Phocian was provided with his bow 
and arrow ready for immediate use. Himilco, holding his 
cutlass and shield, took his post at the stern, directing the 
helmsman; Hannibal and Chamai placed themselves at 
the head of their own companies, and stood almost on 
tiptoe in their eagerness to get the first glimpse of the enemy. 

Before the hour of sunrise we could hear the rushing of 
the water at the river-bar, and in the faint dawn could 
make out Bodmilcar’s three ships blockading our exit 
The Melkarth was in the middle; the decks of all three 
being perfectly thronged by men in helmets. The shore 
was quite deserted. 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 331 





“The stream is in our favour,” I observed; “let us 
commence action with the fire-ships.” 

A number of planks loaded with combustibles was soon 
set afloat. 

I did not wait long before ordering Jonah to sound the 
signal for attack : it was answered promptly by a challenge 
from the enemy; a volley of lances fell upon our deck ; 
we discharged another volley in reply ; and the battle had 
fairly commenced. 

As I had myself superintended the construction of the 
Melkarth, 1 was well aware that her flanks were far too 
substantial to be injured by any blow from our prows; I 
knew, moreover, that her height was so great that it gave 
her an immense advantage in overwhelming us with mis- 
siles, and rendcred every thought of boarding her un- 
tenable. But I also knew her weak points. I had mysel/ 
experienced that her enormous weight made her difficult 
to move; and I resolved in my own mind that, if possible, 
I would take advantage of this defect. After ascertaining 
from Himilco, who knew enough of the channel to forma 
reliable opinion, that the JZe/kar‘h drew too much water to 
be able to move a cable’s length to the right of where she 
was, I ordered our boats to be laden with all the com- 
bustibles they could carry. I next signalled to the Cadiros 
to come alongside, and telling Himilco to follow me, I went 
on board her, Hamilcar being left in charge of the Ash- 
toreth. All this time the arrows from the enemy’s ships 
were falling fast about us, and Bodmilcar, evidently ex- 
pecting assistance from Belesys behind us, was fighting as 
if sure of victory. 

Gisgo joined Himilco at the helm of the Cadiros, and I 
stood between them to give my orders. Never, I can con- 
fidently say, was a vessel more skilfully piloted. After 
taking the two boats in tow, and effectually setting light 
to their cargo of combustibles, we bore straight down upon 
the Me/karth; and when we were within half a bow-shot, 
we were descricd by Bodmilcar, who began to jeer us, 


332 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 








“ All hail, Mago! you are right welcome ; there are some 
old scores to settle between us,—that little affair in Egypt, 
and that other matter in Tarshish, and that piece of busi- 
ness in the Straits of Gades ; we may as well wipe them all 
off to-day. I hope to have the pleasure of seeing you 
swing from that yard-arm before night. Most happy to 
meet you now.” 

An arrow struck him as he finished speaking ; he started 
back. 

“ Hit ! he’s hit!” shouted Bichri, in a voice that rang out 
high above the general tumult. 

“No!” roared Bodmilcar, “ my cuirass is arrow-proof.” 

“ Let us see whether your ship is fire-proof !” I bellowed 
in reply. 

The Cadiros now dashed between the Melkarth and the 
galley on her right, and in endeavouring to avoid us, the 
gaoul became wedged between the burning boats. In 
the midst of a shower of arrows, one of which wounded my 
cheek, I cut asunder the towing-ropes ; the flames broke 
forth, and a long jet of smoke rose high into the air. Gisgo 
was wounded in the thigh, and could not stand, but he con- 
tinued bravely to steer upon his knees. So rapidly had we 
darted by, that the volley of missiles intended for our deck 
went splashing and crashing down upon the water in our 
wake; and as we retraced our course on the other side 
just as rapidly, I called out to Bodmilcar that I meant 
to serve his ship as I had served the Egyptian galley at 
Tanis. Himilco, too, did not spare him some cutting jokes 
upon his dilemma. 

Having returned to my own ship, I ordered the Adonibal 
and the Cadiros to make a joint attack with me upon one 
of the two galleys, and then to get right ahead of the other. 
We made the assault with the very utmost of our strength; 
the galley made a desperate effort to escape us, but it was 
too late; before she could move I had stove in one of her 
sides, and driven her, by the violence of the shock, against 
the Mel/karth and the two burning boats. In the midst ol 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 333 





the smoke I could see that the Me/karth’s men were franti- 
cally making their way on board the Adonibal, which had 
got between her and the other galley, and that the whole 
of the six ships were thus brought together into a compact 
mass, at one end of which the flames were raging furiously, 
and at the other hatchets, swords, and cutlasses were being 
wielded with relentless desperation. 

“To the Adonibal!” I shouted; “board her! we shall 
have them now!” 

Simultaneously my own people and the crew of the 
Cabiros made their way on to her deck. Bodmilcar was 
already there. Hanno rushed towards him and cried: 

“Now then, Bodmilcar, come on, and show yourself a 
man for once !” 

“Come on, young milksop! I am quite ready! As soon 
as I have settled your business, I shall have time to attend 
tothe rest.” 

Their swords clashed as they closed in one upon the 
other, but the.throng around them was so dense that they 
were quite lost to my view. 

All at once Himilco, who had never left my side, made a 
dash forward, and shouted: 

“Ah! you monster, scoundrel, wretch, I have you now !” 

He had recognised the man for whom he had been look- 
ing for the last fourteen years, and had knocked him 
down : the two were rolling together on the deck. 

“Well done, Himilco! hold him tight!” said Bichri, 
who was passing, his sword all covered with blood. 

“ The brute is biting my arm; cannot you help me ?” 

Bichri, quick as lightning, slipped a knife into the hand 
of Himilco, who plunged it deep into his adversary’s side: 
he rolled back ; the death-rattle was already in his throat. 

“Revenge is sweet,” sighed the pilot; “this death of a 
dog is too good for you!” 

Meanwhile Jonah, backed up courageously by Aminocles, 
was performing feats of wonder with his cutlass ; Hannibal 
and Chamai, with their armour all battered in, were on the 


334 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





prow, pushing man after man back overboard into the 
water; Hamilcar was reported to be killed; Hasdrubal 
was badly wounded, but still clinging to his helm; I went 
to his assistance, and by our joint effort we succeeded in 
bringing the ship round so as to be out of the reach of the 
threatening flames; the Ashtoreth and Cabiros had sheered 
off a little, and were waiting my summons to come again 
alongside ; and the other galley of the enemy, although it 
escaped the fire, had gone adrift. 

Such was the condition of affairs, when as I was rallying 
my men for another onslaught, Hanno, his sword broken, 
and his clothes all stained with blood, rushed to my side. 

“He has escaped!” he gasped. “I have lost him in the 
crowd.” 

“Patience!” I answered ; “he is not far off.” 

I now resolved to fall back myself towards my two other 
ships, and as soon as I saw the opportunity, I shouted to 
my men: 

“Back to the Ashtoreth !” f 

As we retreated, we left the prow of the Adonzbal in 
complete possession of Bodmilcar’s troops, and then by 
drawing up two lines of men made an avenue for our own 
escape at the stern. 

Bodmilcar, perfectly helpless, was thus left in a trap, on 
board the Adonibal, which was exposed to the full fury of 
our arrows and catapults; his own ship was burning like 
a furnace ; one of the galleys was sunk, and the other, as I 
have said, had gone adrift. 

For more than half an hour, Bodmilcar endured our pro. 
jectiles; but at length I came to the determination of again 
facing him on board the Adoniba/l. We found him stand- 
ing on the bow, surrounded by a scanty remnant of hardly 
more than thirty men. His face was covered with blood. 

“Shall I shoot him ?” asked Bichri. 

“By no means,” I answered, laying my hand upon the 
archer’s arm; “he must die a more ignominious death thaw 
that.” 


ah a 
~¥ Ge 
Rie 


pom 
Lees 


pv 


oer oo 
ie ya 
Rd te 
mee oe 

a ar 




















WITH BODMILCAR. 


JED 


WAS SETTI 


OUNT 


10: 


AC 


MY 


THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. a3 





Desperate, but short, was the last effort of the Tyrian’s 
body-guard. He was about to make a frantic rush upon 
myself, when Jonah seized him with a powerful grasp. 

“ Here’s your man, captain !” 

Bodmilcar struggled to get free. 

“ Attempt to escape,” said the trumpeter, “and I’ll shake 
the life out of your body !” 

Foaming with supprsesed rage, the captured man sub- 
mitted to his fate. 

He was motionless and silent. Nothing could induce 
him to open his lips ; sullenly he heard my questions ; ob- 
stinately he refused to reply. He was tied to a rope’s-end, 
and was soon swinging at the end of the yard-arm of the 
A donibal. 

My account was settled with Bodmilcar. 





We were soon upon our homeward way. 

After reporting our experiences to the Queen of Sheba, 
we proceeded to Tyre along the canal of Pharaoh, stopping 
only to pay our devoirs to King Solomon. 

A triumphal reception awaited us. Throngs of our 
countrymen assembled to welcome our return; and King 
Hiram, in our honour, gave a sumptuous banquet, at 
which he invited me publicly to narrate the history of our 
protracted and adventurous voyage. 

The King munificently gave me the three vessels which 
I had brought safely home, and the people unanimously 
elected me naval suffect at Sidon. 

I appointed Hannibal captain of my men-at-arms, and 
retained Himilco, Gisgo, and Hasdrubal in my service in 
various posts of good emolument. The report of Hamilcar 
being killed in action had proved too true. 

I have little more to tell. 

All Pheenicia knows how | superintended the floating of 


336 THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN MAGO. 





the cedar-wood and all the materials which King Solomon 
required for the magnificent temple he was rearing at J eru- 
salem. Chamai is a captain in King Solomon’s army, and 
is invariably recognised with every token of respect when 
he comes with Abigail, his wife, to visit me at the Ad- 
miralty palace. Every one, too, knows Bichri, the rich 
vinedresser, who periodically comes to Sidon to sell his 
barrels and skins of sparkling wine, always inviting 
Himilco to the first taste of the produce of his vineyards ; 











whilst every year a vessel is sent with all due pomp to 
Paphos to bring Hanno, the high priest of Ashtoreth, with 
the lovely Chryseis, her priestess and his wife, to sacrifice 
in the temple of their great metropolis. Dionysos, who 
has become a distinguished instructor of his countrymen 
in navigation, and Aminocles, his proud and aged father, 
generally accompany them. 

On these occasions the Cadiros, adorned with em- 
broidered hangings, puts out to sea in honour of my 
guests, and brings them to my private quay, where they 
are always hailed with acclamation as my former com- 





coast, and the Fortunate Islands. 

During the period of our festivities it is generally ob- 
served that Himilco does not walk hoine particularly 
straight, a circumstance that Bichri notifies by whistling 
some Benjamite or Cymrian air; and when finally the 
guests depart, Jonah is never missing, as he always insists 
on preceding them te, their s'.ip \ ith a magnificent flourish 
of his trumpet. 





NOTES. 


CHAPTER: I. 


Phenicians.—\t is for simplicity’s sake that throughout the preceding 
fiction I have adopted the classical name Phcenicians, which may be 
interpreted either as “the red men” or “men of the date-lands.” 
Amongst themselves they were designated “ Canaanites,” or “ people of 
the lowlands,” in contradistinction to “ Aramites,” or “ people of the 
highlands.” 

It would be out of place here to enter into any critical dissertation 
upon the words Khna and Aram, from which Canaanites and Aramites 
derive their appellation.— Page I. 


Shekel.—This word (which, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies a weight) 
is applied both to coined money, the use of which originated with the 
Phcenicians, and to a certain standard of ordinary weight.—/Page 2. 


Tariff of the Sacrifices.—The ritual or tariff of sacrifices is extracted 
from the work of the Abbé Bargés on the Phcenician inscription dis- 
covered at Marseilles.—Page 5. 


Gaoul.— Originally this word signified any round hollow object. The 
Phoenicians designated the island of Gozo “ Gaulo Melitta,” Malta the 
Round, and it may easily be understood how the term came to be 
applied to their circular merchant ships, which were of a type essentially 
Tyrian. “ Onerariam navem Hippus Lyrius invenit.” (Pliny, ‘ Nat 
Hist.’) 

My authorities for the description of the Phoenician vessels are : 

1. Two engravings in Layard. 

2. Exckiel’s prophecy against Tyre. (Chap. xxvii. 7.) 

Z2 


340 NOTES. 





3. Xenophon’s description in the ‘Economia’ of the great Pheenician 
ship that came every year to the Pirzeus. 

4. The engravings in Wilkinson. 

I have likewise ventured to draw some inferences by analogy from 
the accounts of Genevan, Pisan, and Venetian ships of the thirteenth 
century, given by Col. Yule, in his edition of ‘ Marco Polo.’—Page 8. 


Sheathed with Copper.—Although this may seem an anachronism, 
it may with some degree of certainty be alleged that the Phcenicians 
had an idea of using copper for this purpose. It would seem to be 
implied by Vegetius (‘Rei militaris,’ iv. 24) and by Athenzeus (v. 40). 
An ancient legend attributes the invention to Melkarth, the Tyrian 
Hercules : Hercules... n.ive ened navigavit ...navem eneam habutt 
(Servius). 

The other materials employed in the building of the ships are men- 
tioned by the prophet Ezekiel. 

Besides the gaoul, I have introduced the barque, the fast ship, and 
the long ship, or fifty-oared war-galley. 

Without entering into minute details, it may be said that the barque 
is essentially Phoenician. Barek, in Hebrew, signifies to bend or curve 
anything, as a plank. arca est gu@ cuncta navis commercia ad littus - 
bortat (Isidorus, Origines). In the modern Berber dialect it is called 
*ibarka.” 

The fast ship was called tos, a horse, by the Greeks, either on 
account of its speed, or from the figure ordinarily found at its prow : 
Strabo distinctly asserts the latter reason. The vessel described in the 
text being of the type most frequently used in the Phoenician colony 
of Gades, has, on that account, been designated ‘the Gadta.’ Several 
Phoenician coins, apparently current on the coast of Africa, bear the 
impression of a horse’s head ; and the legend of a horse’s head being 
discovered in the foundation of Carthage, probably originated in the 
national symbol affixed to the Phcenician ships. 

The true Sidonian war-ship is the fifty-oared galley : 


vavy mevtnkdvTopov Zdomar. 


EurRIP. Held. 1141. 


What was the tonnage of such a vessel, or how it could be worked 
by only fifty oars, or carry 400 men, are matters on which I give no 
opinion; it is not my province to enter upon any technical argu- 
ments. 

If an analogy be required, it may be suggested by the huge Chinese 
junks which were seen by the Arabian, Ibn Batuta, in the fourteenth 
century, and which carried 600 men, and had fifty or sixty immense 
oars, cach oar being worked by eight men, by means of ropes pulled in 
opposite directions. Those seen by Marco Polo had four men to each 


NOTES. 341 





oar. It is not improbable that the Phcenician vessels were worked by 
some similar method.—/Page 9. 


Purple sail.—My description of the parade-boats is not imaginary ; 
pictures of them are given in Wilkinson (vol. ili.), and all the ancient 
writers, from Herodotus to Plutarch, enter into details concerning them. 
Herodotus describes the Sidonian vessel, from which Xerxes reviewed 
his fleet, as being adorned with golden hangings, meaning Babylonian 
materials wrought with gold.— Page 16. 


CHAPTER ITI. 


Pigeons. Ravens.—The custom of taking birds on a voyage, to in- 
dicate by their flight the direction of land, is mentioned repeatedly in 
the annals of antiquity. As an instance of more modern time and of 
semi-barbarous races, it may be incidentally quoted that the sea-king, 
Ingolf, or Floke Vilgedarson, in 868 took with him three ravens when 
he set out for the discovery of Iceland.—Page 23. 


Fleur-de-lys.—The tiara with this device may be seen amongst the 
engravings at the end of Botta’s work.— Page 31. 


CHAPTERVYV. 


Pharaoh.—The blank which exists in the records of Egypt at the end 
of the eleventh and beginning of the tenth centuries 1.c., renders 
me unable to give the name of the Pharaoh reigning at this period. 

The war-chariots of the Egyptians were mounted by Libyans, i.e., by 
Perbers of the Tamachek race, of which the Kabyles and Touaregs are 
the modern representatives. These chariots and cavalry, also Libyan, 
formed the great strength of the Egyptian army.—Page 79. 


CHAP TE Re ViI- 


Cydonians. Pelasgians.—Without entering upon any dissertation on 
this topic, I content myself with mentioning the existence throughout 
Europe of races distinct both in type and language from the Aryan 
races whom they preceded. Two of these may be especially remarked: 
one with round skulls of Mongolian type, commonly called Turanians ; 
the other with clongated skulls, classitied as Australoids. [hese races 
have everywhere left traces alike of their presence and of their inferior 
civilisation. In the island of Crete, the Greeks preserved the memory 
-f the Cydonians by the few words which | have introduced into the 
text.— aye 100, 


342 NOTES. 





CHAPTER VII. 


Homer.—Wy introduction of the name of Homer undoubtedly de. 
mands an apology. I can only plead that the temptation to uplift the 
veil of mystery, and to reveal the mighty poet in connection with my 
fiction, was very great. Even after Schliemann’s researches, the date 
of the Trojan war is so uncertain that I feel quite at liberty to regard 
it as an open question.— Page 129. 


CHAPTER IX, 


Tyrrhenian Privateers——The description of these vessels is based 
upon a figure found upon a vase in the Campana Museum.—Page 158. 


Scylla. Charybdis.—The romances interwoven into my tale are 
strictly Phoenician ; and I have felt quite justified in introducing an 
allusion to the way in which the Tyrian sailors delighted to mystify 
strangers upon whom they could impose. I may adduce the passage 
in Herodotus, where he speaks of the young girls fishing for gold in 
the island of Cyraunis, and calls it a fine Phoenician story. “Tell it 
to the Greeks !” has passed into a proverb, and the Pheenician tar was 
only too glad to amuse himself and to enhance the price of his wares 
by giving a highly-coloured version of his adventures.—Page 164. 


Nergal.—The superstition about the gigantic cock is borrowed from 
a Rabbinical legend quoted by Movers.— Page 164. 


CHAPEER XI; 


Adonibal.—\ had already completed my fiction before I learnt from 
the researches of M. Sainte-Marie that Adonibal was the name usually 
borne by the naval suffects at Utica, or that it is at least established 
that a long line of magistrates were so called. It was a mere coin- 
cidence that I chose it as being the first appropriate Phoenician name 
that occurred to my mind. 

I may observe here that I have throughout the preceding pages 
written proper names in the way in which they are most familiar. It 
would be mere pedantry to put Hanna-baal (cherished by the gods) 
instead of Hannibal, or Bod-melkarth (the face of Melkarth) instead of 
Bodmilcar ; and it will suffice for any reader who has not studied the 
Semitic dialects to know that any ancient Phoenician or Jewish name 
may be dissected like most modern Arab names, for example. 
Hamilcar is Abd. Melkarth (the servant of Melkarth), like Abd-Allao 


NOTES. 343 





(the servant of God). The student of the Semitic dialects will have no 
need to come to my book for instruction. 

With regard to the names of places, I have felt considerable diffi- 
culty. My reasons for not writing them in Semitic are threefold :— 


1. They are not all known to us under this form. 

2. If known, they are unfamiliar to the general reader. 

3. The identity, orthography, and pronunciation could not be 
substantiated without entering into minute arguments, which would 
be out of place. 


I have accordingly, with few exceptions, used the most familiar forms, 
and have, at the risk of criticism, written Crete, for Caphtorim ; Egypt, 
for Mizraim ; Libyans, for Mashowiah, &c.—/age 177. 


CHAPTER SH; 


I have represented Mago as sacrificing in a dolmen in the form of a 
covered avenue below atumulus. The details are drawn from Bour- 
guignat’s Monuments mégalithiques du nord de? Afrique. M. Daux 
also gives a description of a similar temple. I profess, however, that I 
am very far from accepting Bourguignat’s theory about rude stone 
monuments being arranged in the form of serpents, scorpions, and 
other figures ; I am altogether mistrustful of the accounts of prehistoric 
temples, and am quite of Fergusson’s opinion, that these monuments are 
comparatively modern.—Page 202. 


A tlantides.—To my mind there is nothing improbable in the idea of 
the existence of an inland sea in Algeria which is suggested by the 
text. I cannot, however, say so much for the existence of Atlantis, but 
while speaking of the migrations of the Libyans, it seemed consistent to 
mention all the ancient traditions that relate to them.—/Page 203. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


Ar-J\Jor,—lI entertain considerable doubt whether at the period of 
which I write the Celts had penetrated so far as the west coast of 
France; but at any rate they were already in the east, and upon the 
hone. I have ascertained the existence of anterior races, such as the 
Mongoloids and Australoids, and both here and in a subsequent chapter 
have referred to them. I plead guilty to an anachronism of four whole 
centuries, but I felt that to the general reader it would seem strange 
that I should depict my Phoenicians landing in Gaul without meeting 
with some well known Gallic people ; all that I can say in extenuation 
is that I have cndeavoured to construct my story so as to make the 
anachronism not too flagrant -Paye 244. 


344 NOTES. 





CHAPTER XVII. 


Suomi.—There is no reason to doubt the existence of Finns at this 
date at the mouth of the Elbe. For want of an ancient Finnish name, 
I have invented an appellation from the modern Finnish word Suomi. 
—Page 261. 


CHAPTER XX. 


Circumnavigation of Libya.—Some adverse criticism may probably 
be aroused by my resorting to this expedient for the prosecuting of my 
story. That the Pheenicians might have accomplished it, cannot be 
disputed ; and although the Perzflus of Hanno has recently been 
proved to be apocryphal, and the work of some scientific Greek romance 
writer, I have not hesitated to incorporate the prominent feature of it 
into these imaginary adventures.—Page 302. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


Sheba. Ophir.—The identity of this locality with the southern 
coast of Arabia is beyond a doubt.— Page 309. 


“ Fatrer, etc.’—These verses are translated from some later Arabian 
poetry. Oriental taste has altered so little, that 1 may claim to be 
pardoned for putting into the mouth of a Phoenician, a thousand 
years before the Christian era, some poetry belonging to a period a 
thousand years after.—- Page 310. 


re 
a ee 

ans 

en oe 


[ a Pe nee 
el a 


ikon = 


os 
ae - ons 7 
ae he =e a a 
ais as 
a 
We as 
<a 

















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